The average doctor in the U.S. makes $350k a year. Why?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/04/doctor-pay-shortage/

by LastNevadan • 3 years ago

15 8 3 years ago

thedaly• 3 years ago

jboogie77• 3 years ago

Maybe because it’s they spend 10+ years trying to get to that position, accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, working 80 hour weeks in an industry that has now become service based with high potential for litigation.

aborsy• 3 years ago

If you study medicine, you will spend +10 years trying to get to that position, and after that you are set.

If you study other subjects such as engineering, you may spend +10 years to get the top qualifications (undergrad, masters and PhD is 10 years, many will do postdocs as well) and still will spend your lifetime chasing jobs, constantly reinventing yourself, and most people will never make as much as a medical specialist consistently.

Healthcare in US is lucrative.

meinmissoula• 3 years ago

We could trivially fix the "80 hour weeks" piece by increasing the number of places available in medical schools and residencies, but the AMA intentionally keeps that number small to maintain the status quo of intern hazing and high salaries.

It takes similar effort and abilities to get a STEM phD, but the researchers working on drug discovery or mitigating the climate crisis or whatever other socially-beneficial thing make 1/3rd what an MD makes. The power of the AMA in guiding the entire healthcare system to the benefit of MDs shouldn't be underestimated.

seanmcdirmid• 3 years ago

They have to pay a lot with what they earn (to do their job, like insurance and such).

catchnear4321• 3 years ago

So, why do physicians make that much?
One unfair, inflammatory and accurate answer would be that they like money.

this is some nate silver levels of getting high on yourself.

sonorous_sub• 3 years ago

The law of supply and demand. Tickling corpses back to life is an onerous business.

happytiger• 3 years ago

It’s the minimum required to pay off their student loans.

The average doctor in the U.S. makes $350k a year. Why?

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