If a GP makes 250K per year, with their own practice, that's a lot. Most Lawyers don't make close to that. Crushing the monopoly the AMA or whatever has on accrediting Med Schools and capping graduates will make Tuition CHEAPER. Plus, more Doctors, equals more competition for services and better price. Its not a panacea. A big problem here is unlimited liability = huge malpractice premiums. Also, the cut and margins insurers take is something I'm sure needs review, as well. But Free Market Competition for anything is good for the consumer. And yes, that means protected Markets - like Doctors and Med Schools - should get blown wide open.
Do you mean to say, the more competitive, the less obedient students will be? I agree, there's a strong undercurrent of monopolizing dogma and indoctrination. But to say money doesn't play a large factor?!? You're smarter than that, Merco
David Sochart, from Manchester and Salford, warned that in the current job climate allowing too many new doctors into the market would risk devaluing the profession and make newly qualified doctors prey to "unscrupulous profiteers." A glut of doctors would undermine competition and would therefore lower standards and ensure mediocrity, he claimed. He said, "Patients and health care should not be treated as mere commodities, and neither should medical students. We must not allow another lost tribe of doctors to be consigned to the wilderness." ------------------------------------------------ Some things never change "To widen the market and to narrow the competition is always the interest of the dealers. The proposal of any new law or regulation of commerce which comes from this order, ought always to be listened to with great precaution, and ought never to be adopted, till after having been long and carefully examined, not only with the most scrupulous, but with the most suspicious attention. It comes from an order of men, whose interest is never exactly the same with that of the public, who have generally an interest to deceive and even to oppress the public, and who accordingly have, upon many occasions, both deceived and oppressed it." ~ Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations
i'm fine with more med schools and do agree with the increase in competition lowering prices- the point that i ineffectively was trying to make at the beginning you just agreed with me on- and that is that insurance has such a grip on everything and the unlimited liabilities for malpractice that govern the way doctor's work have crippled the industry. cover-your-ass medicine has become the new standard which is wasteful, slow and gets worse every day as lawyers come up with ways to sue. i just hate hearing people talk about how doctors make so much money, there is a reason i'm trading now and not in med school and it is because i know i can make many multiples of what i would as a doctor in this industry.
As a side note, if anyone had bothered to read the article they would have noted it had absolutely nothing to do with the AMA. The article was published in a journal of the British Medical Association.
Another thread recently posted in economics is about the high cost of health care. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=144300 In it, I agree. Its unlimited liability = high insurance Med Schools and capped enrollment. Patented Drugs and no generics. Unhealthy general public. And thats just my laymans take on the situation. Another poster mentioned insurers pay 5% on premium collected. If thats the case, the entire insurance industry needs deregulating. Up here in Canada, one of our protected industries - besides telcom, internet, wireless and banks - is Insurance!! They lobbied Government to adjust accounting standards so that theoritical MAX LOSS could be deducted from current earnings, EVERY YEAR. Therefore, most Canadian insurers haven't paid a cent in Corporate Tax in over a 100 Years. Not sure what the US has in place, but given the corruption in banking, wallstreet, defense, Government, wouldn't be surprised if the Insurers had their own racket going.
http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/11/04/news/z01.txt here is another interesting parallel to the idea of the government confiscating 401k's to be able to afford our budget. anywhere there is money to be had the government tries to steal it no matter what. mandate people keep money aside to pay out malpractice- then decide, eh you have to much we'll just take 25% peter's savings to pay paul....then turning to peter- hey peter, why aren't you saving enough you have 25% less than you are supposed to, better start saving again you irresponsible glut.
I know quite a few doctors, don't know where you get your salary info, but it's way off from the guys I know. A buddy of mine recently finished his inter and after his first year he said he made over 3 hundred thousand. He said if he wanted to work 80+ hours a week like some of the other surgeons he could of pulled in 5 to 6 hundred thousand. By the way he did not get into medicine for the money.