Presbyterian Healthcare Services - The 800 Pound Gorilla

Fascinating article about the 800-pound gorilla of Albuquerque health care, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, and its gorilla-like ways:

Allyson Ray, an ear, nose, and throat doctor in private practice in Albuquerque, had treated Presbyterian-insured patients for years when the health plan abruptly cut its reimbursements for her services. When she and colleagues grouped together to negotiate, she said Presbyterian informed them it would rather pay higher prices to send patients for treatment out-of-state than compromise with them. The incident added to New Mexico’s perennial shortage of specialist physicians: rather than endure the confrontation, Ray recalled, one of the doctors left the state and another retired early.