The Mayo Clinic warned that changes in healthcare usage patterns are hurting its business, suggesting that other providers in the industry may face financial turbulence over the next few years. Operating income and the number of surgeries performed at the storied facility both fell significantly in 2005. That's at least partly because the provider is getting less from Medicare these days and insurers are steering patients to local competitors willing to cut deals on prices. Mayo Clinic president Dr. Denis Cortese says the decline is a sign that consumers and insurers are favoring cost over quality. "Insurance products make money by restricting where patients can go," Cortese tells the Star-Tribune. "They're trying to reduce the amount of money going out the door."
- read this article from The Minneapolis Star Tribune