can I pay it back with Hillary or O in there?

[dreams]

So I am wondering if Hillary or O get elected and put forth their healthcare ideas what will that mean for doctors? I know that they have different ideas, but just wondering where all of us might be headed? How will the amount earned by doctors change? Mostly I am scared of not being able to pay back all of my loans if I will be making less than 120K. (before I get s*** on here I am not wanting to go into medicine for the money, just need to pay back my loans (not in med school yet but so far all private loans) without living in a cardboard box so to speak)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Bacchus]

Its going to be rough, regardless. The candidates do not have overly-liberal opinions about the fixes for our healthcare system. You should be more concerned about expressing your concern for the recent legislation prohibiting deferment through residency. Everyone is in the same situation and it isn't because of our president.

 

[dd128]

It's going to depend on more than just the candidates ideas. There's going to need to a majority of democrats all around to get the bills passed. If clinton or obama make it to the white house and for some reason republicans take control again it's not likely that their universal healthcare stuff will get very far.

 

[Doublecortin]

So I am wondering if Hillary or O get elected and put forth their healthcare ideas what will that mean for doctors? I know that they have different ideas, but just wondering where all of us might be headed? How will the amount earned by doctors change? Mostly I am scared of not being able to pay back all of my loans if I will be making less than 120K. (before I get s*** on here I am not wanting to go into medicine for the money, just need to pay back my loans (not in med school yet but so far all private loans) without living in a cardboard box so to speak)

that will mean that all the doctors will get f#$%ed, no question about it. But I guess it doesn't matter, because Obama stands for CHANGE, exactly what kind of change, no one knows, but it doesn't matter since he is good looking and a good speaker.

If any one of them gets into the White House, expect the medical profession to turn into a giant DMV

 

[Vihsadas]

Its going to be rough, regardless. The candidates do not have overly-liberal opinions about the fixes for our healthcare system. You should be more concerned about expressing your concern for the recent legislation prohibiting deferment through residency. Everyone is in the same situation and it isn't because of our president.

For emphasis...

 

[Bacchus]

I understand that we need to be compensated fully and properly as future medical professionals. However, if the sole worry in this issue is compensation than its time to switch future goals. The country as a whole is more important than a single practitioner. With the distribution of wealth, and thus healthcare, so skewed corrections need to be made. As humans we are entitled to many things and should not be denied health coverage. When I have classmates tell me they don't have healthcare coverage I'm in utter shock.

 

[dd128]

I understand that we need to be compensated fully and properly as future medical professionals. However, if the sole worry in this issue is compensation than its time to switch future goals. The country as a whole is more important than a single practitioner. With the distribution of wealth, and thus healthcare, so skewed corrections need to be made. As humans we are entitled to many things and should not be denied health coverage. When I have classmates tell me they don't have healthcare coverage I'm in utter shock.

A lot of people who've never had to worry about healthcare coverage take it for granted I'm sorry to say. People who don't have it always have the constant worry about 'what am I going to do if I have to go to the hospital?' Many politicians and physicians have no idea what this is like, and it's sort of one of those things you need to experience first hand to really understand. When I was younger my dad lost his job and I spent years without coverage as a child. I had no idea, but had I been in a car accident or seriously ill it would have become apparent very quickly. So I was lucky, but millions aren't.

 

[just a girl]

that will mean that all the doctors will get f#$%ed, no question about it. But I guess it doesn't matter, because Obama stands for CHANGE, exactly what kind of change, no one knows, but it doesn't matter since he is good looking and a good speaker.

If any one of them gets into the White House, expect the medical profession to turn into a giant DMV

I'm always a little terrified by the number of republicans on this board... I hope I can find some liberal people in med school!

 

[Vvandenn]

A lot of people who've never had to worry about healthcare coverage take it for granted I'm sorry to say. People who don't have it always have the constant worry about 'what am I going to do if I have to go to the hospital?' Many politicians and physicians have no idea what this is like, and it's sort of one of those things you need to experience first hand to really understand. When I was younger my dad lost his job and I spent years without coverage as a child. I had no idea, but had I been in a car accident or seriously ill it would have become apparent very quickly. So I was lucky, but millions aren't.

 

[Bacchus]

A lot of people who've never had to worry about healthcare coverage take it for granted I'm sorry to say. People who don't have it always have the constant worry about 'what am I going to do if I have to go to the hospital?' Many politicians and physicians have no idea what this is like, and it's sort of one of those things you need to experience first hand to really understand. When I was younger my dad lost his job and I spent years without coverage as a child. I had no idea, but had I been in a car accident or seriously ill it would have become apparent very quickly. So I was lucky, but millions aren't.

I could not agree with you more. When I heard about the possible lack of funding for CHIP I was horrified. As a kid, my dad, like yours, had job stability issues and was layed off, for a while. He had to resort to various odd jobs (both parents are blue collar) and wasn't able to commit to a single one because of unpredictability. I received healthcare under the CHIP program.

As another example, I know someone that injects a certain medication weekly for a serious condition. The cost of that medication annually? Probably 17,000 - 18,000 dollars. With insurance the cost is much lower. If it weren't this person would not be able to afford the necessary medication.

 

[Myuu]

I'm always a little terrified by the number of republicans on this board... I hope I can find some liberal people in med school!

I'm a democrat and fairly (very) liberal, but I totally agree with the post you quoted (the bits about Obama, anyway). As others have pointed out, it really depends on the political climate in our nation's capital. Right now, we're looking at something like a 50-50 split in congress. Yes, Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the house, but with such a large republican (or opposition in general) contingent, it's very difficult to push the agenda in a way her constituents would favor completely. Take, for instance, the economic stimulus package that just passed. Yes, they got the majority of the things they wanted, but not the benefits for seniors or the unemployed.

Getting back on point, any changes in the health care system will inevitably take effect over a number of years, leaving the OP plenty of time to get that second or third job.

(I'm totally kidding. None of these things will affect your income for a long while yet.)

 

[justme456]

I understand that we need to be compensated fully and properly as future medical professionals. However, if the sole worry in this issue is compensation than its time to switch future goals. The country as a whole is more important than a single practitioner. With the distribution of wealth, and thus healthcare, so skewed corrections need to be made. As humans we are entitled to many things and should not be denied health coverage. When I have classmates tell me they don't have healthcare coverage I'm in utter shock.

I dont have any healthcare coverage either... never have

 

[TheXc]

I understand that we need to be compensated fully and properly as future medical professionals. However, if the sole worry in this issue is compensation than its time to switch future goals. The country as a whole is more important than a single practitioner. With the distribution of wealth, and thus healthcare, so skewed corrections need to be made. As humans we are entitled to many things and should not be denied health coverage. When I have classmates tell me they don't have healthcare coverage I'm in utter shock.

I agree to a point with you. Personaly I believe that the health care does need to be fixed, but I am not sure to what extent. It would be nice if there would be a nice middle were everyone would agree, but chances are some people will be happy and others wont when it is all said and done.


[/rambling]

 

[brogers]

I understand that we need to be compensated fully and properly as future medical professionals. However, if the sole worry in this issue is compensation than its time to switch future goals. The country as a whole is more important than a single practitioner. With the distribution of wealth, and thus healthcare, so skewed corrections need to be made. As humans we are entitled to many things and should not be denied health coverage. When I have classmates tell me they don't have healthcare coverage I'm in utter shock.

I'm really interested in seeing if those who wish to cut the pay of physicians in order to deal with ballooning healthcare expenses of this country will also concern themselves with lowering the cost of medical school for those same physicians.

I completely agree that physicians should be concerned with more than just pay. However I believe to expect any significant population of individuals to undertake hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans without "reasonable" compensation will lead to the same situation we have with teachers and education in this country. Namely a shortage of individuals able to provide the care and effort we require.

Of course I can be completely off-base, but just my 2 cents

 

[dd128]

I agree to a point with you. Personaly I believe that the health care does need to be fixed, but I am not sure to what extent. It would be nice if there would be a nice middle were everyone would agree, but chances are some people will be happy and others wont when it is all said and done.


[/rambling]

Such is life...

 

[Textuality]

Yeah, I had friends from high school who had dead beat parents, or who's folks owned an independent business that couldn't afford health care. And when they'd get sick, they'd just stay home and tough it out unless they got a crazily high fever, in which case they may or may not go to the emergency room. Some of them STILL don't have health insurance because they are working as free lance artists, or what have you, and they just can't afford it. Personally, I"m willing to settle for a little less salary for them to have some basic coverage.

I really doubt it'd ever get so bad that doctors would live in cardboard boxes until their 30's and 40's. But maybe I"m just being naive, I guess we'll see. But I always thought that America took a lot of pride in the quality of their physicians-in-training, and I feel like if the average physician salary dropped to like 80k, there would be a very sudden (and predictable) dearth in quality applicants. Meh. I could be delusional.

 

[Doublecortin]

I'm always a little terrified by the number of republicans on this board... I hope I can find some liberal people in med school!

are you kidding me?? The VAST majority of med students are extremely liberal, tree-hugging, "lets-treat-everyone-for-free" types, just look at AMSA and their stated BS goals.

Conservatives like are a tiny minority

 

[Bacchus]

I'm really interested in seeing if those who wish to cut the pay of physicians in order to deal with ballooning healthcare expenses of this country will also concern themselves with lowering the cost of medical school for those same physicians.

I completely agree that physicians should be concerned with more than just pay. However I believe to expect any significant population of individuals to undertake hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans without "reasonable" compensation will lead to the same situation we have with teachers and education in this country. Namely a shortage of individuals able to provide the care and effort we require.

Of course I can be completely off-base, but just my 2 cents

Aye. But I don't see salaries being cut as drastically as some think. If tort reform was unified across the country a lot of problems would be solved.

 

[dreams]

Its going to be rough, regardless. The candidates do not have overly-liberal opinions about the fixes for our healthcare system. You should be more concerned about expressing your concern for the recent legislation prohibiting deferment through residency. Everyone is in the same situation and it isn't because of our president.

Well i am concerned with the whole political hand in all of the medical aspects including the residency thing, this goes right along with my OP, I was hoping that would be where it ended and perhaps we would not have to worry about paying back all the loans (while in residency or after) as long as we are responsible about paying it back. However, according to most on here I guess people are worried but its just a matter of how much we should be and when it will start. I agree like most that everyone should have access to healthcare, however, it makes me sad that its the doctors who might have to suffer the most (not only paying back loans, but seeing a higher volume of people in the same amount of time, etc)

 

[Bacchus]

A physician's salary is a lot of money. However, when you factor the following items into the mix it all goes to hell:

1. The MB/Lexus/Cadillac
2. The 5 BR, 3.5 BR & inground pool home that's got a monthly mortgage of $3-4K
3. The carefree attitude about money

Solution:
Spend thriftly for a while, invest, secure your retirement.

 

[dreams]

Aye. But I don't see salaries being cut as drastically as some think. If tort reform was unified across the country a lot of problems would be solved.

and how do you see total reform not having some effect on salaries?

 

[Bacchus]

and how do you see total reform not having some effect on salaries?

I'll assume you misread my post. Take a look at it again.

 

[dreams]

A physician's salary is a lot of money. However, when you factor the following items into the mix it all goes to hell:

1. The MB/Lexus/Cadillac
2. The 5 BR, 3.5 BR & inground pool home that's got a monthly mortgage of $3-4K
3. The carefree attitude about money

Solution:
Spend thriftly for a while, invest, secure your retirement.

ok, I was just concerned with paying back loans and being able to live, not having all the extras. We all know we have to think carefully about the $, just worried there wont be enough there.

 

[dd128]

Aye. But I don't see salaries being cut as drastically as some think. If tort reform was unified across the country a lot of problems would be solved.

Tort reform would help alleviate some problems, but law suits aren't the main barrier in keeping healthcare more accessible. The problems created by insurance companies needs to be seriously addressed. Physicians having to high entire staffs to deal with the headaches and problems with claims is just one of many problems. If they could spend their time and energy seeing patients rather than having a completely money biased insurance company dictating how they can see and treat patients maybe things could start to progress in a positive direction.

 

[dreams]

I'll assume you misread my post. Take a look at it again.

no I see you said "some effect" but why dont you think it will be more than just a bit ?

 

[Bacchus]

Its quoted enough places.

 

[Bacchus]

Tort reform would help alleviate some problems, but law suits aren't the main barrier in keeping healthcare more accessible. The problems created by insurance companies needs to be seriously addressed. Physicians having to high entire staffs to deal with the headaches and problems with claims is just one of many problems. If they could spend their time and energy seeing patients rather than having a completely money biased insurance company dictating how they can see and treat patients maybe things could start to progress in a positive direction.

I agree. If malpractice premiums weren't so high doctors would have better take home pay and this should increase happiness, hopefully.

However, there are still those damn insurance companies, hah.

 

[dreams]

This is a very, very rough calculation:

Based on a 2500 dollar/week salary, single status.

Your take home pay weekly will be approximately $1735.

That's a yearly income of $90000.

Assume you're in a hospital setting (malpractice payed).

Monthly mortgage of $2500
Monthly car payment of $400 (I don't know what kind of car this would get you -- insurance included)
Utilities payment of $250 per month
Food payment of $200 per month
Various expenses of $200 per month
4 Tanks of gas a month for $100 total
Loan repayments (over 30 years) at $1200 a month

That's a grand total of $4850/month or $58200 per year.

There is about $30000 left over for the entire year. Even if there are a lot more expenses that may get cut to $15000.

You'll have money left over.


If this is nowhere near accurate I'll remove it, just let me know.

Well I guess that would work if there were no kids/family involved however, I also have that to worry about as will-do many on here Im sure, so thanks for the breakdown but still worried

 

[Bacchus]

I plan on my spouse working.

 

[Bacchus]

To get back on track I'll say again that neither Barack, Hillary, or John is going to cause drastic drops in physician salaries. The bigger issue to worry about is getting one of them into office.

 

[BigRedder]

This is a very, very rough calculation:

Based on a 2500 dollar/week salary, single status.

Your take home pay weekly will be approximately $1735.

That's a yearly income of $90000.

Assume you're in a hospital setting (malpractice payed).

Monthly mortgage of $2500
Monthly car payment of $400 (I don't know what kind of car this would get you -- insurance included)
Utilities payment of $250 per month
Food payment of $200 per month
Various expenses of $200 per month
4 Tanks of gas a month for $100 total
Loan repayments (over 30 years) at $1200 a month

That's a grand total of $4850/month or $58200 per year.

There is about $30000 left over for the entire year. Even if there are a lot more expenses that may get cut to $15000.

You'll have money left over.


If this is nowhere near accurate I'll remove it, just let me know.

Do you pay for things? A tank of gas in a midsize car will run you north of $40 nowadays. $200 a month for food? That's like $9.50 a day. I've been known to spend that on lunch. My friend, an aspiring actor in NYC working as a bar-back, has a $10 a day food budget. He eats oatmeal for breakfast and gets whatever food he can at a restaurant.

And yes, this also assumes you don't have a family, which hopefully I will when I'm 30 years old...

 

[dreams]

Do you pay for things? A tank of gas in a midsize car will run you north of $40 nowadays. $200 a month for food? That's like $9.50 a day. I've been known to spend that on lunch. My friend, an aspiring actor in NYC working as a bar-back, has a $10 a day food budget. He eats oatmeal for breakfast and gets whatever food he can at a restaurant.

And yes, this also assumes you don't have a family, which hopefully I will when I'm 30 years old...

...agree with all this for sure

 

[Bacchus]

Do you pay for things? A tank of gas in a midsize car will run you north of $40 nowadays. $200 a month for food? That's like $9.50 a day. I've been known to spend that on lunch. My friend, an aspiring actor in NYC working as a bar-back, has a $10 a day food budget. He eats oatmeal for breakfast and gets whatever food he can at a restaurant.

And yes, this also assumes you don't have a family, which hopefully I will when I'm 30 years old...

I go to school in Philadelphia. I get by on $40 a week for groceries. I pack my own lunches/prepare my own meals because it is cheaper and healthier.

$40 a week in gas is still going to run you less than 1K, not a big diffference.

And it does consider the person as single. If you have a wife or husband that works there is additional income.

 

[nevercold]

This is a very, very rough calculation:

Based on a 2500 dollar/week salary, single status.

Your take home pay weekly will be approximately $1735.

That's a yearly income of $90000.

Assume you're in a hospital setting (malpractice payed).

Monthly mortgage of $2500
Monthly car payment of $400 (I don't know what kind of car this would get you -- insurance included)
Utilities payment of $250 per month
Food payment of $200 per month
Various expenses of $200 per month
4 Tanks of gas a month for $100 total
Loan repayments (over 30 years) at $1200 a month

That's a grand total of $4850/month or $58200 per year.

There is about $30000 left over for the entire year. Even if there are a lot more expenses that may get cut to $15000.

You'll have money left over.


If this is nowhere near accurate I'll remove it, just let me know.

You are right. There is plenty of money in any physician's salary to pay back his/her loans. You just can't go for expensive stuff while paying back those loans. You have to live within your means, which can be done very comfortably.

As for all this political mumbo jumbo, the kinds of revolutionary changes predicted by republican attack dogs regarding healthcare are not only absent from most of the current candidates' healthcare plans, but are also unfeasible even with a democratic congress and democratic president. These types of changes end up being vetted and worn down through politics and amendments to small steps.

Anyone here think that effective preventative care, health education, and making nutrition and fitness more ubiquitously available might be the most effective thing we can do for the healthcare system? You don't have to spend billions on lung cancer if people don't smoke. We don't have to spend $10k/patient/day on 55-year-old congestive heart failure patients to stay in the ICU if they were to avoid gaining 300 pounds and started exercising a little.

 

[Omyss]

Honestly if you switch over to non-privatized HC the docs will not be making that much less. Look at Canada... sure the docs make less BUT they don't have to deal with malpractice woes and that takes alot of costs from salary.

 

[BigRedder]

I go to school in Philadelphia. I get by on $40 a week for groceries. I pack my own lunches/prepare my own meals because it is cheaper and healthier.

$40 a week in gas is still going to run you less than 1K, not a big diffference.

And it does consider the person as single. If you have a wife or husband that works there is additional income.

Do you plan to live and eat like a student when you are a doctor? You are also going to have to pay property taxes on your home, which will run a few thousand a year depending on where you are, plus if you live in a big city you will want to send your kids to private school, and save up for their college tuition (it will only get more expensive). All I'm saying is that there are a lot of expenses people don't think about, plus if you have all that money left over you might try to pay down your loans faster.

 

[dreams]

Honestly if you switch over to non-privatized HC the docs will not be making that much less. Look at Canada... sure the docs make less BUT they don't have to deal with malpractice woes and that takes alot of costs from salary.

I will have to look into the canada thing, got any links?

 

[Bacchus]

You are right. There is plenty of money in any physician's salary to pay back his/her loans. You just can't go for expensive stuff while paying back those loans. You have to live within your means, which can be done very comfortably.

As for all this political mumbo jumbo, the kinds of revolutionary changes predicted by republican attack dogs regarding healthcare are not only absent from most of the current candidates' healthcare plans, but are also unfeasible even with a democratic congress and democratic president. These types of changes end up being vetted and worn down through politics and amendments to small steps.

Anyone here think that effective preventative care, health education, and making nutrition and fitness more ubiquitously available might be the most effective thing we can do for the healthcare system? You don't have to spend billions on lung cancer if people don't smoke. We don't have to spend $10k/patient/day on 55-year-old congestive heart failure patients to stay in the ICU if they were to avoid gaining 300 pounds and started exercising a little.

And how do you manage preventative care? You get everyone to the doctor. All the naysayers say HILLARY is the DEVIL or BARACK is the DEVIL. This may be true for one of the two but as long as their are stable-minded republicans and democratics in congress nothing drastic is going to change. They both are simply providing plans for attempting to manipulate health insurance to a more logical means. Of course we don't know if its going to work, we haven't ever had national healthcare.

 

[Bacchus]

Do you plan to live and eat like a student when you are a doctor? You are also going to have to pay property taxes on your home, which will run a few thousand a year depending on where you are, plus if you live in a big city you will want to send your kids to private school, and save up for their college tuition (it will only get more expensive). All I'm saying is that there are a lot of expenses people don't think about, plus if you have all that money left over you might try to pay down your loans faster.

I agree with you. However, the salary of a physician does not make these things impossible, especially if there is a dual income.

 

[Omyss]

I will have to look into the canada thing, got any links?

http://www.cmpa-acpm.ca/cmpapd03/pub_index.cfm?FILE=HOME_MAIN&LANG=E

 

[BigRedder]

I agree with you. However, the salary of a physician does not make these things impossible, especially if there is a dual income.

I never said it did. I just wanted to point out that your estimations were a bit unrealistic.

Back to the original topic, I thought that doctors were humanitarians, devoted to the service of mankind. The neoconservatives running today's republican party are devoted to serving self-interest. A majority of wealthy people are republicans because it suits their interest in being taxed less, and doctors tend to be wealthy people. However, if doctors are to truly be humanitarians, they must vote for candidates who want to help the greatest number of people, not simply themselves.

 

[PrecordialThump]

.

 

[Bacchus]

I never said it did. I just wanted to point out that your estimations were a bit unrealistic.

Back to the original topic, I thought that doctors were humanitarians, devoted to the service of mankind. The neoconservatives running today's republican party are devoted to serving self-interest. A majority of wealthy people are republicans because it suits their interest in being taxed less, and doctors tend to be wealthy people. However, if doctors are to truly be humanitarians, they must vote for candidates who want to help the greatest number of people, not simply themselves.

 

[NoUse4aName1286]

A physician's salary is a lot of money. However, when you factor the following items into the mix it all goes to hell:

1. The MB/Lexus/Cadillac
2. The 5 BR, 3.5 BR & inground pool home that's got a monthly mortgage of $3-4K
3. The carefree attitude about money

Solution:
Spend thriftly for a while, invest, secure your retirement.

The 3-4,000 monthly loan payment after 40% of gross income is lost to taxes.
Be realistic - few would opt for medical careers knowing they'd make the same 50-60k post-tax salary after income and loans out of college. And pre-meds, I feel, tend to be bent on denying themselves credit..you are to some extent or other delaying your life for 8-11 years more education than most college grads. People don't do that for free [even in socialized UK, many doc's, without the loans we have, still opt to work in private practice hospitals for the money, despite making approx. 3x the average citizens salary (Doctor working for the UK government is paid roughly 80,000 pounds, which would translate to an $80,000 salary over here in terms of cost of living. Yet many still do LOTS of private care hospital work [they only log 40 hrs a week for the government) in order to bump that income into the 150-300,000 pound range].
Become a doctor takes a ton of training, as well as a ton of work AFTER formal training.

 

[Gut Shot]

So I am wondering if Hillary or O get elected and put forth their healthcare ideas what will that mean for doctors? I know that they have different ideas, but just wondering where all of us might be headed? How will the amount earned by doctors change? Mostly I am scared of not being able to pay back all of my loans if I will be making less than 120K. (before I get s*** on here I am not wanting to go into medicine for the money, just need to pay back my loans (not in med school yet but so far all private loans) without living in a cardboard box so to speak)

Nobody has a clue what's going to happen. The United States had six attempts to institute some sort of universal health care during the 20th century; those attempts are all now relegated to history's dustbin. We will just have to wait and see what happens if Hillary or Obama wins the White House. Talk is cheap right now, and while the national mood makes health care reform a significant priority, there are a plethora of factors that would shape any such effort.

One thing to avoid, however, is joining the mouth-breathers in labeling Hillary's plan as "socialized medicine." Her current proposal is strikingly similar to what Romney did in Massachusetts, which isn't even remotely socialized. Even her 1993 plan wasn't socialized medicine (it was far too convoluted). Obama's plan isn't socialized medicine, either, although it could someday lead to a single-payer or two-tier system. Whether that would be good or bad for doctors is unknown.

 

[dreams]

maybe you should look at the OP, and everything else I have said...

 

[TheRealMD]

This is a very, very rough calculation:

Based on a 2500 dollar/week salary, single status.

Your take home pay weekly will be approximately $1735.

That's a yearly income of $90000.

Assume you're in a hospital setting (malpractice payed).

Monthly mortgage of $2500
Monthly car payment of $400 (I don't know what kind of car this would get you -- insurance included)
Utilities payment of $250 per month
Food payment of $200 per month
Various expenses of $200 per month
4 Tanks of gas a month for $100 total
Loan repayments (over 30 years) at $1200 a month

That's a grand total of $4850/month or $58200 per year.

There is about $30000 left over for the entire year. Even if there are a lot more expenses that may get cut to $15000.

You'll have money left over.


If this is nowhere near accurate I'll remove it, just let me know.

Malpractice insurance costs money.
Gas is nowhere near that cheap.
Paying back your loans over a 30-year period means a lot of money goes towards interest.
Food definitely isn't that cheap.

 

[Gut Shot]

Malpractice insurance costs money.

Yep. Fortunately, physician salary's in this country are reported after expenditures (including malpractice). It's not unreasonable to have $130,000 in pre-tax income as posited above.

 

[BigRedder]

Yep. Fortunately, physician salary's in this country are reported after expenditures (including malpractice). It's not unreasonable to have $130,000 in pre-tax income as posited above.

Maybe people would be more in favor of tort reform if they realized how much of their "astronomical" medical bill went to paying for their doctor's malpractice insurance.

 

[Bacchus]

Pulled this website from smq123, I believe: www.fightingdocs.com. Simply amazing... and sick.