The public may have little sympathy for “overpaid” physicians and some think they deserve a pay cut.
That’s fine.
But how does that really solve the reality of the situation?
Medical students graduate with a mortgage-sized school debt see specialist salaries several times more than their primary care counterparts. Predictably, this leads to a specialist boom.
Motivated undergrads read about declining physician salaries in the face of a worsening practice environment, and subsequently steer clear of medicine:
The simple fact is that fewer and fewer people will apply for medical schools and enter a field where the price for education is high, the process is incredibly long and difficult, and when you get out you get the privilege of working excessive hours with many all-nighters, high stress, high liability, personal health risks, expensive insurance costs, and diminishing compensation!
The opinion or fact that American physicians are more highly compensated than their European counterparts is completely irrelevant to the situation at hand.
People can criticize “high” physician salaries all they want, but how does that help the new Medicare patient desperately trying to find a primary care physician?
