[shri]

The second response was a bit more direct.

Dr Law's analogy involving the price of business- and first-class air tickets defeats me. There is surely no argument that private hospitals are entitled to charge for differing classes of accommodation, although they should be more transparent in these charges. But my understanding is what is being challenged is why doctors, who are generally independent of hospitals, are charging wildly varying fees, depending on the class of accommodation occupied, for providing essentially the same service.

I suggest that a more appropriate analogy would be if one is accommodated in the presidential suite or the basement of the Peninsula Hotel, one would not expect a different price for the same meal in Gaddis.

DOUGLAS MILLER
Tai Po