Okay, here's another one. I can't vouch for this, but this is what I have been told.

Among fairly recent innovations in medical diagnosis are various kinds of scanning machines: CAT scanners, MRIs, etc. These machines are very pricey, running, so I've been told, in the millions per gizmo.

In many countries, including Canada, or so I've been told, most major population centers have these devices. But if hospital A in, say Vancouver, B.C. doesn't have one, they send you to hospital B for the necessary scan. Reciprocal agreement kind of thing.

But in Seattle alone, I know for a fact that there are many of these scanners. If Swedish Hospital has an MRI machine and a CAT scanner, Providence Hospital (a few blocks away) has to have them also. Northwest Hospital has them. The Virginia Mason Hospital has them. Valley General has them. The Polyclinic has them. They ALL have BOTH CAT scanners and MRIs ! Apparently, there are no reciprocal agreements.

I have been told that there are more CAT scanners and MRIs in the Greater Seattle area than there are in the entire country of Canada. But just about every hospital and clinic in this area is up to date with the latest equipment, by God!

And these very valuable but very expensive diagnostic devices must be paid for. So they use them a lot. Sometimes I think they'll order a scan if you have a hangnail!!

And, of course, they bill the insurance company—whose premiums keep ascending like an out of control blimp with a real gas problem.

Yeah. Something stinks all right!

Don Firth