Bill recalled how Mary physically flinched at that, knowing Doc had said much more than he should have.
“Well that’s nice to know,” Susan interrupted. “You come in and work your butt off to improve things, and they’re going to get you for cleaning up their mess. Sounds like they want to control more than the practice of medicine to me,” she snarled. Then gritting her teeth she added, “Maybe, ‘We the People,’ really don’t have any rights anymore.”
“I agree,” Doc replied, “and on top of all that, they’ve been doing things that have been scaring the hell out of me and many other ethical physicians. Now their damned monopolies are acquiring nonprofit hospital ancillary services as their own private business in almost every part of the country, and that use to be considered a conflict of interest - a no-no - beside being far too costly to the patient. In fact, if a physician prescribed something they’d receive money for, it was once considered unethical. But what the hell - it’s a sweetheart deal if the upper crust can triple their income without any regulation or intervention, all because they’ve paid off some crooked politician. That’s how they’re baiting these younger doctors into joining their Dinosaur Club. And don’t tell me they don’t have power. But you know what? They don’t realize that someday the consumer’s going to bite back at them - and stop paying them when the sick and disabled all go broke. They just don’t seem to realize that most empires fail because of people revolutions. That’s why more experienced countries have gone to a single nonprofit prepayment system, so they can control this type of abuse. And that’s not some damned profit insurance system, like we have today.”
Bill nodded, “Your absolutely right Doc, and I agree with you.”
With that he recalled how Doc paused, sucking in a deep breath before blowing it out in a long frustrated whistle.
“Bill, you’re very much aware that Lanin’s Dinosaurs have already taken over two of the Sister’s poorly run hospitals, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I bet you don’t know it was Lanin who orchestrated those take over’s in Nebraska. And once these Managed Care Monopolies take over, the public will never prevail again. When I asked Lanin if he wasn’t creating an illegal monopoly, he said - we’ve got the consumer by the balls, and just what the hell can they do about it? Are they going to put us all in jail, where we can’t treat them when they get sick?”
“That may be just what we need to do,” Bill growled, puckering his mouth tightly. “At least it would help cut down on the current excess of some two hundred thousand physicians in this country.”
“The other thing I was going to tell you, which should be extremely important to you is they’re forcing hospital boards, under the threat of boycott, to replace highly qualified administrators with their yes men, like Collier. Today, every new administrator must be capable of sucking-up to the Dinosaurs to keep their job and their big salaries, or they get rid of them. That’s their way of controlling things. I don’t have to tell you that you’ve walked into a buzz saw, and that’s what’s going to happen all across America over the next few years. Ever since we won the cold war, America has been to strong for these bankers to control, and that’s how they are going to weaken this once great nation - so they can take over.”
Susan and Bill looked at each other as if Doc had just touched a hot wire.
“Susan, it looks like I should be the one to retire, not Doc,” Bill grumbled.
Frowning, Doc picked up his empty coffee cup and then quickly set it back down. “Bill, these wealthy noblemen have set up the largest administrative blackballing system in the world, and you’re probably pretty close to the top of their list, right now. They don’t want ethical Presidents that lead; they want yes men. Perhaps you can now see why I’m ready for retirement. No practicing physician would dare tell anyone what I’m telling you, because they’d be castrated - but I’m in a position where I can still get out, before I contaminate a lifetime of ethics with this Lanin bullshit - and so are you.”
Bill thought Doc was finished, but then he continued.
“Now I’m going to really break their God damned code of silence,” he snarled, leaning forward in his chair and lowering his voice. “Richard Lanin’s a very close friend to the man that first introduced me to my wife.”
Bill remembered how Mary’s face flushed with that remark.
“You probably know Red Hinkley, don’t you?”
“Oh yes, I’ve played golf with him a few times.”
With that Mary looked at her feet, embarrassed - trying to ignore what Doc was about to say.
“Well, Dick Lanin and Red are the best of friends. Red’s been involved in some sort of Las Vegas underworld for many years, and I can’t stand the bastard, even though he helped me meet Mary. And recently I’ve been told by a very reliable and close colleague of Lanin’s, that Red paid a Las Vegas mechanic to do away with those two Sisters.”
Mary was visibly relieved as she glanced at Bill.
“That was their attempt to place their yes man, Collier, in the top position at our hospital. And although that take-over backfired on them when you fired Collier, they’ll be patient for the time being, and they’ll acquire another yes man once they find a way to get rid of you. No one knows that you plan, or even desire to leave once you have things in place, so they think you’re here to stay, and they’re really afraid of you.” With that Doc rubbed his chin, staring stoically at Bill.
“That paranoid bastard thinks you may have some type of government connection, and that you intend to expose their mischief - Bill, he’s afraid of you, and I’d advise you to keep him thinking that way. But I’d also recommend you at least look over your shoulder now and then, and I’d damn well not get caught in any corners if I were you.”
“Yes, I guess I’d better watch my hind quarter the way it sounds,” Bill replied, clenching his fists as he glanced at Susan to check her reaction.
With that, Bill recalled how Mary stood up and began to gather the dishes, smiling at both Bill and Susan as she moved quickly around the table. Yes, Doc had confirmed Bill’s worst suspicion of what was happening in healthcare, and he now knew it would be next to impossible to get any hard evidence on Lanin’s informal organization. He also was certain that this corrupt aristocracy was growing like a cancer across the country.
After Bill and Susan gathered their belongings, Bill remembered shaking Doc’s hand and saying, “thank you, I now have a much better understanding of the magnitude of this thing.”
As they all began to make their way along the shaky dock, Bill once again turned and thanked both Mary and Doc for alerting them to what was really going on, agreeing to meet again if and when they found it necessary.
“They’ve shown considerable courage in trying to help me,” Bill thought as he drove away on the narrow dirt road.
Chapter 3
Mary Wants to Help
One week after Bill had contacted Mary, she flew to Colorado Springs. Dave had made arrangements for her to stay at the Broadmoor, and Bill agreed to meet her at the airport. As she walked out of the gate she smiled and threw her arms around Bill, giving him a big hug. Their frequent glances conveyed their pleasure at once again being together, and after getting her a room they sat at the patio bar overlooking the lake, where they had a drink and caught up on what had happened to both of them since they’d last seen each other. Although they’d always maintained a professional relationship, which had only grown since their years in North Dakota, their strong support