In my mind, the prose of the sequels were so unlike Clarke when I read them as a teen that it created a long stint of aversion towards spending time on anything with co-authors. I owe Rendezvous a lot though; had I not discovered that book as a kid, there's little chance I'd be reading recreationally today.

The median US hospital is also a nonprofit; indeed, more than half are. I fail to see how focusing on this opaque median measure tells us anything meaningful.

Care to speculate on the trends I pointed out? I simply don't see how compensation for doctors is the problem.

Ahh, grokked. Thanks for helping me better empathize with such a nuanced situation.

Appreciate the perspective.

> A not small number of the rural docs are foreign born and trained and they essentially work this crappy jobs until they have permanent residency and then they move to more desirable markets.

Not sure that I follow how "rural" necessarily begets "crappy" though. Is the working quality of life somehow that much worse, or is it the relative social isolation and/or lack of recreational options while off duty, or is it really just a case of urbanite out of their accustomed habitat?

Hmm...sniff test sampling:

- HCA[1]: FY25 profit margin = 9.0%

- UHS[2]: FY25 profit margin = 8.6%

- THC[3]: FY25 profit margin = 6.6%

Yeah, a bit of disaggregation is likely needed here, but in these companies, labor expense as a percentage of revenue is on a declining YoY trend while revenue continues to grow.

What's the prevailing ballpark ratio of doctors to all other hospital staff again? And what details are buried in that ever so opaque and increasing "other operating expenses" line item?

[1] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/860730/0001193125260...

[2] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/352915/0001193125260...

[3] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/70318/00000703182600...