That's not true, actually. It can be tricky to get admitted to a PA program after dropping out of med school, but it isn't impossible. AA programs likely could care less, assuming your GPA was actually competitive for med school in the first place. You can market even a partial medical education if you know how to sell it.
As for salary, they are typically paid the same as CRNAs because it is the same job (and physicians prefer to hire AAs over CRNAs). Starting salary might be closer to 160k but I've personally seen it as high as 180k (plus sign-on bonus) in the midwest on Gaswork.com (pretty typical). With some experience (typically 3-5 years) the average salary is at least 200k/year, for 40 hours a week. With overtime it isn't unrealistic to make about 250k.
They are limited where they can practice, you are correct about that. However, they are slowly expanding despite heavy CRNA opposition. That is due in large part to broad support from the ASA.
For what it's worth, I am actually aware of at least a handful of former med students in a PA program as well as at least a handful in AA programs. The people in the PA program are local. Certainly not impossible to get into a PA program after being in med school, although it will depend on certain factors (reasons for leaving, medical diagnosis discovered after leaving, undergraduate GPA, clinical hours, etc.). AA has no discernible anti-ex-med student bias; in fact prior med school experience can be a positive. It isn't strict about requiring clinical experience (just about a week's worth of shadowing experience with an anesthesiologist, AA, or CRNA).
Again, the OP should do what they want. I am just presenting viable alternatives because this information is not really accessible.
www.anesthetist.org