Another health care story

I wrote about my attorney with the back problem before. Today he got the okay for his back surgery, his diabetes is controlled enough for him to get the surgery. So now there is the issue of what hospital the insurance company will allow him to use (he can use any hospital he wants, obviously, as many will point out, but if he wants the insurance that he pays premiums on to pay, he has to let it choose). He was on hold for a nurse for about 20 minutes; then she said, no, the hospital your orthopaedist (who is in their "network" by the way) wants to use is not "preferred". So now he has to go to a hospital that isn't the one his doctor prefers, but the one the insurance company prefers.
When people criticize single payer universal health care they always want to say, "you won't be able to choose your doctor or hospital". Well, who has chosen my boss's doctor and hospital? Not the patient, not even the doctor, but the insurance company. When did they get to make these decisions for patients they haven't ever seen?
This has to change.