Where are the Doctors on Healthcare Reform? (Hint: Busy Working Their A#@!% Off)
This week I was visiting with an old friend who runs a major hospital in an Eastern Seaboard metropolis (I feel that I must protect his identity). Of course it was over a few beers (who needs truth serum when you have beer-Obama knew what he was doing last Thursday) and I found the conversation remarkable for what I did not expect.
My friend is fairly closed mouth about his politics, especially around me, but I suspect he voted Red last fall.
Not being able to help myself, I had to ask about his thoughts on the current push by the Congress and Obama Administration on healthcare reform. In a hushed tone, he told me that things absolutely have to change. He wholeheartedly agreed with me that the current system without a universal single payer plan by the government was a huge drag on our economy, especially small business. His hospital was basically getting reimbursed by the federal and state government only 10 cents on the dollar for the public contribution to the current methodology of providing for the uninsured (i.e., ER medical care).
He also said the pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment corporations are out of control.
Then the kicker that I did not realize: My friend told me that the pediatricians and general practitioners, who are the vanguard of healthcare system, in his metropolitan area are killing themselves to make $100,000 per year.
Having spent a little time around south Florida medical specialists at the country clubs and marinas, cross examining them in and out of Court, this anecdotal factoid bothered me. I investigated a little further and found this:
The information from this website appears to be trustworthy, but I will let others point out any fundamental problems with the reliability of this data.
Anyway, the long and short of it is that outside of Metro LA and Metro NYC, the average salary for a medical doctor across the nation in its metro areas is only between $160,000 and $ 172,000. Some automobile salesmen make more than that. Hell, I thought it would be at least $250,000 to $300,000.
Where is the MSM on this? Where is all the money going then ??
Seems like the Federal government could easily come up with a single payer public option with a salary structure that attracts good doctors for a basic level of competent health care with the money that is running through the system presently.
After several more beers, my friend and I decided that we didn't need no stinkin' Harry and Louise to bring about true healthcare reform.
My friend agreed a public option single payer system was essential, a universal health care system preferable.
I agreed that if we had a universal system or public option, that the healthcare providers would be shielded from medical malpractice liability except in intentional or grossly wanton incidents, and even then there would be reasonable damage caps.
Senators and Congressmen, it ain't so hard. Have a nice vacation. See you in September.
During a recent visit, my doctor made the observation that young GPs are more attuned to being professional employees, and they are less oriented towards being proprieters or partners in a practice. This also means that they are more interested in working regular hours and not interested in taking on the business functions of running a practice.
The individual practice may be going the way of the individual restaurant, the corner store, and the family farm.
August 2, 2009 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
My cousin is a pediatrician and after 25 years in practice he has now taken a salaried position. It's as you say, neither the working conditions nor the pay are great for physicians providing primary care. They are squeezed by insurance companies and by the government. That's one thing that makes me sceptical about the holy mantra of cost cutting. I don't know where you are going to get primary care providers if you squeeze them on fees. The best and the brightest will just keep going into Wall Street where they get the big bonuses.
We need to be focusing on the healthcare delivery system. If you get the delivery system working efficiently, cost cutting will take care of itself. If all you do is focus on cutting costs, you're going to wind up with a shortage of providers, clinics and hospitals -- but no shortage of insurance companies.
August 2, 2009 4:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think its the insurance companies. Doctors do okay, though most work pretty hard for their money. Pharma companies are definitely pigs, but then again 80% of what most doctors do is prescribe drugs which drives a lot of costs.
I think its the insurance companies. In the medical arena everything has some kind of insurance cost associated with it. Malpractice, product liability, institutional liability. Those most vocal against the recently discussed ideas on health care reform have been the insurance companies.
August 2, 2009 6:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
The AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians) is advocating for health care reform.
Here is their website:
http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp.html
August 2, 2009 9:16 PM | Reply | Permalink