I wonder how much of the $489 million owed to Maine hospitals is the result of over-treatment of patients. Consider my recent experience when I sought treatment for a painful hip injury.

I visited a local orthopaedic physician who took five x-rays at his office, ordered an MRI at the hospital and scheduled a cortisone shot which his receptionist advised could not be administered for six weeks. When I suggested going to a chiropractor for treatment, the doctor essentially called that profession “quackery.”

So I went to a chiropractor anyway. After twice-a-week visits for about eight weeks of treatment, my hip felt fine. The chiropractor insisted I continue treatment for two more weeks. I lied and told him my wife and I were leaving for vacation and I would call him when we returned. I never did.

My experience of over-treatment, multiplied by thousands of Mainers, certainly contributes to the size of the debt the state owes to Maine hospitals.

Norm Lafosse, Jay