per year in base salary. Add in the bonus, and most of them make about ten times a top surgeon.

This is why capitalism as Americans practice it must fail.

The scientist saving lives makes ten times less than the Wall Street CEO. We value investment but we do not value labor.

because of how the medical schools are limiting the supply of new doctors. Personally, I believe that there needs to be a national program where you serve as a doctor in an impoverished part of america for 6 years, and your medical school costs are reimbursed/forgiven. These salaries are why WE cannot have nice things like national health care.

programs like that in individual states. I know that Kansas had something like that, because I know a doctor who did something like that thirty-five or so years ago.

Wasn't it the premise of the old Northern Exposure show too?

Doctors can also work for ten years for a non-profit or government agency (like the VA) to receive public service loan forgiveness.

I think 10 years though is a little excessive. I say 6 years. That was my enlistment requirement after the US Merchannt Marine Academy.

Teachers, a fair number of people who work for 501c3 non profits, etc. More people should look into student loan forgiveness programs.

at a facility that I used to work at made less than $100K/year. There were some nurses that earned more than them. But, they didn't have to maintain offices or work on billing, the hospital itself took care of that. This particular physician group leaned towards physicians who received their education outside of the US. I'm assuming that they didn't have the Yuge medical school loans to pay off and could actually afford to work for that amount of money.

It's a lot of money, but they do a job that not a lot of people can do.

I completely forget the numbers, but doctors' salaries account for a relatively small percentage of the overall healthcare expenditure. Unlike a lot of CEOs, doctors actually add something of value to our society.

...like liability insurance and other things, and are obviously critical to society.

On any money above some number lower than most of those salaries.

Obviously posted by someone who doesn't make near that money nor had that level of schooling and training.

I don't begrudge doctors a dime.

90% for the top 1%. None of these doctors would be affected. Nice try tho

Orthopedic surgeons would meet that level on average.

No, no one ever said that.

but the link below does show somebody calling for a maximum income of 20x the lowest income. At the current federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour, working 40 hours a week 52 weeks of the year, that equals 15,080 . Multiple that times 20 and you get 301600, which would be below several of the specialties.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027516856#post6

That said, I'm not adverse to the general idea, even if I do owe my ability to walk without pain to 5 knee surgeries. I'd certainly be willing to discuss if there should be some limit to how much somebody can earn, although I would put the number significantly higher, although given that I would raise the minimum wage, I don't know what the multiplier would be between the two.

It talks about a maximum allowable salary with steep progressive taxes. We USED to have a 90% tax rate and I personally am all for that again in incomes over 25MM->50MM

I have also advocated for maximum allowable salaries, but only in companies that receive federal subsidies. So, if you are a company that relies upon the government via subsidies or tax breaks than executive salaries should be limited to a multiple of the lowest paid worker (such as 20 or 25x). If you want to pay yourself more, just get off the government handouts.

However, there is a long range between those types of policies and a 100% tax rate (meaning you are only working for the government).

Even if we had a 90% tax rate on income over 50MM that would mean that if someone made 60MM that would owe 90% of the money between 50 and 60 million (10MM) so they would still be walking away with an additional million.

People claim it is a disincentive to work, but when you start dealing in those types of numbers, you aren't really 'working' for it at that point, you are likely running a company that is operating on its own, you have wealth managers who are all trying to maximize their income. No one is going to say "when you hit 50MM STOP EARNING MONEY" because all expenses are above the line deductions anyway.

Never has been.

the cost of health care in the US is being driven by insane hospital and pharmaceutical fees.

Medical equipment also.

My husband is on a liver/kidney transplant list. He just had to hospitalized recently in ICU for three days and then a four day stay to maintain.

Our bill 28,000.00 Insurance "discounted" and paid only 4,680.00. Plus, what we will owe! That is damn crazy and INSANE!

Few people have any clue about the demands of being a physician. I couldn't do it for 1 million dollars if I wanted to.

it is the desk jockeys, paper pushers, admin. management, insurance and pharmaceuticals where we need to make changes.

PS. Some of the above jobs need to be paid twice as much or more.

So... first lets start with the concept of doctor's "salaries". Some doctors who work for larger organizations do receive "salaries"; however, this isn't necessarily what their services are BILLED AT. So, for example, my wife had to have a biopsy, which was a 1 hour long surgery. The bill for HIS services for that 1 hour was $2835. Based on the numbers above, actual pay is close to $175 per hour. however, she was billed more than that for her initial consultation, which lasted about 15 minutes. And no, $2835 wasn't for the whole surgery, that was just HIS charge.. add $1300+ for anesthesia and a giant list of other charges. The $2835 was the charge for just the 1 hour of his time spent in the room. In short, looking at Physician salaries, those paid salaries, doesn't begin to explain the actual COST to the consumer because those numbers don't accurately reflect the charges by a LONG SHOT.

So, we can glance at the sole practitioners and see what they "make". But, this is incredibly deceptive as well. These offices often have to have people whose full time job it is to navigate insurance, meaning costs are inflated because a salary has to be paid to someone just to make sure billing is being done correctly with the insurance company.. that isn't even patient billing, this is JUST an insurance company person. I presume that is why Pediatricians and Family Medicine is so "low" on the scale, because they tend to be small practices where they have to absorb these expenses or like our pediatrician, who just doesn't deal with insurance at all and we have to chase the insurance company around to get pennies on the dollar for our visits. (and this is from a platinum plan).

Here's the reality.. in a single payer system, doctor's "salaries" would likely go up, because so many of the COSTS associated with their services would vanish.

What does it mean to "make" that much money?

Is that net of expenses or gross?

Before or after taxes?

Does it separate out those who teach and practice, or is it just practitioners?

How does it account for their health insurance, because most doctors don't treat themselves? At least not well.

Does it account for investment and the money needed to maintain that investment--i.e., the degree and paying down debt associated with it?

How about retirement? I know my mother was a steelworker, and even with her reduced pension because her employer went bankrupt years ago she's made an additional $7200 a year for her "income." We usually count retirement benefits as part of self-employed and contract-employed workers. Like doctors. CEOs. Etc. But not for workers, somehow, even though often the retirement benefits are extensive.

They need to show the income and expenses of the doctor's practice. That'd show us how fucked up the entire system is.

Doctors' salaries vary greatly by region. I live in New England and, as a general surgeon, I make much less than what is listed. In areas with higher need, average salaries are much higher. That being said, the breakdown in which specialties are paid more is fairly spot on.