This paper examines the political debate surrounding the challenge to the integrated
healthcare system Intermountain Healthcare
(IHC) health plan in Utah, whose vision is to provide the best clinical practice possible at the lowest
appropriate cost, referring their patients to be treated at an IHC affiliated facility. The author points out the question regarding self-referral medical centers is that, if they can in turn refer their patients to their own surgical center, will they be more likely to want to do procedures that they would not normally find themselves doing if they had to do them across the street at the hospital? The paper stresses that, regardless of the main objective,
healthcare providers should be trying to provide the best clinical practices at the lowest appropriate cost to the patient or their health insurance company.