In which she boggles

I already knew that the USan health system was crazy and ridiculously expensive. (There are USans who come to New Zealand for surgery because even with the airfares it's cheaper plus you get to visit New Zealand which, as previously reported in this LiveJournal, is the coolest country in the world.) But then I was reading this article and it starts talking about how, compared to other systems, the Mayo Clinic is cost-efficient because:

"[...] decades ago Mayo recognized that the first thing it needed to do was eliminate the financial barriers. It pooled all the money the doctors and the hospital system received and began paying everyone a salary, so that the doctors' goal in patient care couldn’t be increasing their income."

And I'm going <boggle> with extra bold font! And moreover, WHUT?

Do you mean that doctors elsewhere in the US don't receive a salary? That they instead receive a portion of each of their patients' fees? Seriously?

(For a private practice, sure, because that's what a private practice is. But I mean in hospitals and larger practices and stuff.)

Isn't that like paying judges according to the fines they levy?

It's been a while since I boggled this much. I don't get it. I must be misinterpreting something. Because if that's the system... Seriously. How could you trust your doctor's recommendations? Who could ever think that was a good idea?

OUT OF BOGGLE ERROR

PLEASE EXTEND BOGGLOMETER TO CONTINUE BOGGLING