Doctors going broke
So really, are the doctors in the USA going broke or is it some more of the same ole exaggerated media bull shit and hype, I do believe it to be the later.
Believe me I know that the doctors are making less, working harder and longer hours and seeing too many patients, there is too much paper work and too many regulations and way way too many insurance companies and agencies and regulations to contend with, but going broke? I say bull shit.
Here is why and wherefore.
First of all we must consider that it costs way to much to educate and train a doctor, and then most doctors add on to the costs themselves by over training for particular specialties. Does every doctor need to be a specialist? Many are minimally and marginally qualified in their specialty but the desire for higher pay for less effort is a factor, one can charge at least twice as much if he is a specialist compared to a general practitioner, but here is the kicker, as the number of the specialists in a given field increases their potential income is diluted, fewer patients soon translates in to fewer dollars too. So we meet the first perfect storm, fewer patients, smaller reimbursements and then high student loans to be paid back, no wonder the doc feels bad off.
Now we have another problem that no one had takes in to consideration,
As is the case with most all Americans, most doctors are also victims of their own unrealistic aspirations, right out of school and under the burden of student loans it is not uncommon to find the new MD marrying a "high Maintenance" trophy wife, buying expensive cars and moving in to a high dollar abode, then there is the high rent office in a "prestigious" professional building and you have not even made the first dollar and as you open your office the first day you are hounded by "investment advisers" and sundry other scam artists. Here you are a young twenty something who has never made a dollar in your life yet and you have bills already coming out the wazoo, so you buy in to real estate scams and condo deals for professionals just like you and soon you find yourself slipping in to the abyss.
Now is a good time to buy a share in to that professional office building and also to invest in a new MRI? CT scan/ lab on site out fit it is just a few more small payments and the money will roll in right?
Bottom line is this, A vast majority of the doctors that are going broke are not so because there is no income, but that their investments are tanking, their big money dreams have failed, and the bit off more than they could chew, practices in small towns survive, general practitioners that are not in to investment schemes and living within their means are getting by the doctors that are going broke are the ones who were not there to treat patients and provide a seervice, the ones going broke are the ones who were in it to get rich, real quick.
http://tombstone001.blogspot.com/2007/05/eyes-wide-shut-ii.html
http://tombstone001.blogspot.com/2009/06/whatever-you-can-afford.html
LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE
So really, are the doctors in the USA going broke or is it some more of the same ole exaggerated media bull shit and hype, I do believe it to be the later.
Believe me I know that the doctors are making less, working harder and longer hours and seeing too many patients, there is too much paper work and too many regulations and way way too many insurance companies and agencies and regulations to contend with, but going broke? I say bull shit.
Here is why and wherefore.
First of all we must consider that it costs way to much to educate and train a doctor, and then most doctors add on to the costs themselves by over training for particular specialties. Does every doctor need to be a specialist? Many are minimally and marginally qualified in their specialty but the desire for higher pay for less effort is a factor, one can charge at least twice as much if he is a specialist compared to a general practitioner, but here is the kicker, as the number of the specialists in a given field increases their potential income is diluted, fewer patients soon translates in to fewer dollars too. So we meet the first perfect storm, fewer patients, smaller reimbursements and then high student loans to be paid back, no wonder the doc feels bad off.
Now we have another problem that no one had takes in to consideration,
As is the case with most all Americans, most doctors are also victims of their own unrealistic aspirations, right out of school and under the burden of student loans it is not uncommon to find the new MD marrying a "high Maintenance" trophy wife, buying expensive cars and moving in to a high dollar abode, then there is the high rent office in a "prestigious" professional building and you have not even made the first dollar and as you open your office the first day you are hounded by "investment advisers" and sundry other scam artists. Here you are a young twenty something who has never made a dollar in your life yet and you have bills already coming out the wazoo, so you buy in to real estate scams and condo deals for professionals just like you and soon you find yourself slipping in to the abyss.
Now is a good time to buy a share in to that professional office building and also to invest in a new MRI? CT scan/ lab on site out fit it is just a few more small payments and the money will roll in right?
Bottom line is this, A vast majority of the doctors that are going broke are not so because there is no income, but that their investments are tanking, their big money dreams have failed, and the bit off more than they could chew, practices in small towns survive, general practitioners that are not in to investment schemes and living within their means are getting by the doctors that are going broke are the ones who were not there to treat patients and provide a seervice, the ones going broke are the ones who were in it to get rich, real quick.
http://tombstone001.blogspot.com/2007/05/eyes-wide-shut-ii.html
http://tombstone001.blogspot.com/2009/06/whatever-you-can-afford.html
LIFE IS A GAME OF CONNECT THE DOTS, IF YOU DON'T CONNECT ALL THE DOTS OR DON'T CONNECT THEM IN THE RIGHT ORDER YOU NEVER GET THE PICTURE
The great thing about a blog is that you can write whatever you want and express YOUR OPINION.
ReplyDeleteThe reality of what you say here is, well, not reality.
Yes, I come from a family of medical professionals. Yes, we do make a greater gross income than most. But, you are seriously mistaken if you fail to consider the cost, in both time and dollars, of the education and experience needed not to harm those that have come to you for help and to provide healing for the sick.
That LAST THING THIS COUNTRY needs is to attack the healthcare providers. And yes, economic stability and a good living are part of why we chose this profession, but if you think money is the only reason, you need to reassess your own values and beliefs. We could have chosen many other career paths that would yield us more pay, less stress, and fewer working hours.
No big deal. When you need a dentist or physician and you can't find them or can't get an appointment or complain that your "co-pay" was too much, remember this - THEY DO NOT HAVE TO TREAT YOU. We do not need to provide the best care possible to everyone who comes to us. (ER visits are different, but that's another discussion). The system is broken, not the providers of care.
There are plenty of physicians I have known over the years who have "gone broke" for a variety of reasons, including primary care physicians. More and more, the 3rd party payers have tried every trick in the book to not pay or pay less, deny claims, and hope the physician goes away. I call bullshit on your assertions as someone who has no idea what is involved in the private practice of medicine.
ReplyDeleteTrapper John MD