> a tiny outlier minority that suits the narrative, is shamelessly cast as representative thiefs/vagabonds/[Insert hostile epithet here] to smear a whole profession or position.

This "profession" doesn't need smearing- it does a great job all by itself.

Don't need research or links.
Anyone who looks seriously at a the cost of a hospital stay in the US compared to the rest of the world can see that something is rotten, stupid or both.

In NY and NJ, at least where I spent time, there are fewer than a third as many hospitals as there were 20 years ago. The logic behind each consolidation was to reduce costs by increasing purchasing power, reducing overhead, blah, blah, blah.
Instead costs have skyrocketed as monopolies have grown stronger.
These amalgams are run by political hacks who would have a hard time spelling MD.

Someone I knew recently had a X-Ray performed by an urgent care place.
The X-Ray took about 15 minutes
The place billed the insurer $1,500 for the X-Ray.
Let's look at that a minute.
Just about all X-Rays are now digital- no more cost for film and film processing.
Most are sent along as PDF's.
Those mammoth things have been replaced by small processors- hence less space needed.
So- what is the out of pocket cost of producing a X-Ray?

It seems to me that the providers have scooped up all the economic benefits provided by tech and passed none along to the poor sick schlub who pays the bills.