We were talking about Medicare fraud on another thread and some good advice was to ask lots of questions. And that should be the case even if you feel sure there's no fraud.
It's my contention that it's vitally important to know who's paying the "generous salaries" for doctor's services because it has the potential to have a considerable impact on patient healthcare. (It was stated that the Village's Clinic doctors are receiving generous salaries.)
Example: Suppose (in any community) that generous salaries are being paid to doctors by a hospital. The hospital would stand to gain financially when those doctors refer patients for surgery. If a doctor doesn't refer enough patients, that doctor's employment contract will not be renewed when it expires. And those who do refer lots of patients are likely to get a salary increase.
Would you want an important decision, like whether or not to get surgery, to be based on the financial considerations of the doctor and the hospital? If not, you need to ask your doctor to prove his or her source of income, and the source shouldn't be a hospital. That goes for your PCP and your specialist. If your doctor refuses to answer the question by saying it's confidential, then you should know that there's likely a conflict of interest and you should try to find another source of healthcare.
BTW, none of the above is illegal. As a matter of fact, it's becoming more and more common all across the country. Large hospitals are buying small hospitals and then buying doctor's practices. As a consequence, more and more doctors are on hospital payrolls. The name of the game is to do as much surgery as possible because surgery is hugely profitable.
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