Important not only because of the prominence of the institution but because Barack Obama himself cited the Mayo Clinic’s work in the run-up to his infomercial on ABC. I have the oddest feeling that the citations have come to an abrupt ending:

In general, the proposals under discussion are not patient focused or results oriented. Lawmakers have failed to use a fundamental lever – a change in Medicare payment policy – to help drive necessary improvements in American health care. Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States.

Via Allahpundit, Mary Katherine Ham has numerous examples of Barack Obama mentioning the Mayo Clinic in his selling of socialized healthcare. So it’s not like The One can suddenly dismiss the findings of the same institution and be taken seriously. Either it’s a reliable source of information and opinion or it’s not. He’s stated that it’s the former case multiple times.