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Companion health care reform bills are winding their way through the U.S. House and Senate, and there's a very good chance we'll see substantive reform that achieves universal health care in the United States, with a vote on the landmark legislation as early as August. Over the past few weeks at a golf course in the New York City area where I play golf, I've had a chance to speak with a number of physicians. Further, while underscoring that this is not a scientific poll, if the 'Totally Informal Laz Survey' is any indicator, doctors are willing to go along with cuts in government and insurance payments for various examinations, services, and tests, provided other stake holders --- insurance companies, hospitals, other providers, pharmaceutical companies, corporations, and the federal and state governments --- are called to make sacrifices, as well.
For doctors, salary caps are a non-starter
One thing the doctors will not tolerate, however, is any attempt to encourage or mandate fixed 'salaries' for doctors, or policies that force the profession as a whole to adopt a 'doctors-for-salary' model, as opposed to fee-based medical services.
"I'll take the hit on Medicare and Medicaid payments, and reduced fees, but this business of placing caps on income, or forcing the profession to move in that direction, no way," one physician said.
Another remarked that reducing fees and insurance reimbursements is the correct way to go, in that "everyone will sacrifice a little to bring health care costs down." But creating cooperatives or insurance companies that pay doctors a flat - and in many cases too low - salary "is not the way to go" because it will make it almost impossible for physicians to repay large medical school loans. "If you did that, the federal government would have to 100% subsidize a doctor's medical school education," he said.
And given the cost of medical school, he has a point.
Financial Editor Joseph Lazzaro is based in New York.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-16-2009 @ 10:23PM
Iridium said...
The reason why medical school is so expensive is because doctors can make so much money.
Here is the problem with the "no salaried doctor" argument. Well maybe those docotrs you met on the golf course would actually have to work. There are many doctors that work 100 hours a week for $75k. Then you have many doctors that work 12 hours a week and make $200k.
Those doctors that spend more time on the golf course than they do in an office are the ones that scam the system to get the most from the pay by procedure system. IN order to maximise thier own revenue they wll force a patient to get th emost expensive drugs and tests. Most of these doctors get back payments from drug reps for prescribing certain drugs.
These doctors are just as bad as the stock manipulators on Wall Street. These guys are why it costs $250 to get $6 worth of antibiotics.
Nobody is saying a doctor should make $25k a year but if the average salary was $100k, would that be so bad?
We need salaried doctors and we need comprehensive audits of hospitals to see where the money really goes. Hospitals are crying poor yet pulling in billions. Something stinks.