The Financial Outlook of Doctors - Discussion

[Nascent]

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Malpractice lawsuits are on the rise and Obamacare is in place. What are some important factors that contribute and how much will they contribute? How low could salaries possibly fall or how high could they rise?

What are your predictions?


*Note: This has nothing to do about the motives of becoming a doctor or any other inferences that obstinate med. students may add to justify themselves. This is strictly a discussion about the financial outlook of a doctor.

 

[pre med 2014]

Get a JD/MD then when you get sued you could bill your malpractice insurance to defend yourself.

 

[I'm No Superman]

I predict that doctors will always be payed for their work.

 

[docB]

Most of us believe we will see a roughly 25% decrease in our overall finances in the short term. This is +/- 25%. There are various issues that will cause this.

The ACA may increase the number of patients who are technically insured but the increase will essentially mean more Medicaid level visits that are already, at best, revenue neutral for doctors and often represent a net loss. The demands of the ACA for paperwork and additional requirements on the hospital end (e.g. ACOs, penalties for core measures misses, never events, HCAHPs, readmissions, etc.) will drag on our pay as well.

Doctors and physician groups employ people. We will be forced to met the requirements of the ACA to provide those employees with health coverage. This increase in overhead will come directly out of our income.

Taxes are going up and people in our brackets are the prime targets. With the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the expiration of the payroll tax holiday we will see a 6.5% increase in taxes with just those changes. If Congress actually closes tax "loopholes" which has been proposed by both Democrats and Republicans we will be hit hard. The "loopholes" they are talking about are deductions that small business owners, such as doctors who own medical practices or are incorporated, depend on. If they change or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction it will hurt us disproportionately as well.

This is not meant to be doom and gloom. This is just the reality in the post 2008 economic universe. This also doesn't just apply to our industry. Everyone is hurting.