Do doctors belong to the 1%?

[marmar]

Do doctors belong to the 1%?
Yes, a significant minority of physicians has done very nicely in the US healthcare system – but all that is changing now

Cory Franklin
guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 January 2012


With the American presidential election approaching, a major campaign issue in 2012 will be growing income inequality in the United States. In the past three generations, family incomes in the US have risen, but incomes of the highest earners have risen much faster than those of everyone else. Since the economic downturn of 2008, the disparity in wealth has widened – hence the Occupy movement, with its rallying cry "the 1%" and "the 99%".

With crucial measures of President Obama's healthcare reform yet to take effect, over 50 million Americans still do not have health insurance and healthcare costs are escalating. In the circumstances, physicians find themselves, not surprisingly, in the frame for discussions of wealth and inequality. According to the New York Times, among all groups of physicians – academic, private practice, and hospital or clinic-based – roughly 200,000 doctors, or about 20% of the profession, belong to the 1%.

Before American patients storm the barricades of their doctors' offices and chain themselves to hospital entrances, some perspective. All US physicians are not in the same boat (or yacht). There is wide income variation across specialties and regions of the country. Sub-specialists earn more than primary care doctors; orthopedic surgeons make double what pediatricians do, and are probably more likely to be in the 1%. Depending on where a doctor practices, income for similar services may vary by as much as 20%.

Economic factors certainly play into the equation. In the United States, an across-the-board income disparity exists between skilled and non-skilled professions, so physician incomes should be measured against those of other skilled professionals. Coming out of training at age 30, American physicians have a higher level of education and shorter earning lifetime than most other skilled professionals. Also, while healthcare costs continue to rise, the trend in physician salaries has leveled off, as doctors experience the same financial pressures as the rest of society. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/23/do-doctors-belong-to-the-one-per-cent

[notadmblnd]

1. For the most part, I would say no

I'm sure that there are exceptions but I would think most are in the top 10-20%

[handmade34]

2. in my mailbox today

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/newsgraphics/2012/0115-one-percent-occupations/index.html?ref=business

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I would never go through all that schooling if the pay wasn't worth it.

I think that there are some professions that are necessary, and that require a lot of education, and doctors are one of those professions. There education is extremely expensive, both with money and time. I have no problem with them being in the 1%.

[Dawson Leery]

4. Doctors perform a vital service.

Much more so than sports stars and certainly more important than Wall Street thieves.

[Nikia]

8. I agree

Becoming a physician is also a profession that the less well off can break into with a lot of hard work and sacrafice. Most other ways of becoming 1% are off limits to those who weren't born into it.

[xchrom]

5. Depends on a # of factors.

When they went to school, debt, did they make it to the investor class, etc.

I would the majority, no - they're workers.

Some, yes - they made it to the investor class.

[Warpy]

6. No. The older guys are still solidly upper middle class

with vacation homes and fat portfolios. When they retire, they'll be quite comfortable but nothing approaching the 1%.

The younger guys have crippling debt and aren't doing nearly as well. If they have any ideas about getting married and buying houses and investing for retirement, they're going to be living on beans and rice with the rest of us no matter how big the paycheck looks.

Docs, no matter how well they did, are still hired help. To be in the 1%, you have to have been in the business of making the already rich even richer. Or you had to be born in the 1%.

[greymattermom]

7. stressful job, think of pay by the hour

Most docs work much more than 40 hours a week. I have a friend who recently switched to half time so that she can work 40 hours a week. With high debt and having to pay for a lot of household help, only those who do a lot of procedures are getting rich. Many are burning out after 20 years on the job. So, for a minimum of 8 years training after college, they may have a high income for 20 years or so, but also have a high debt and very heavy work load. One ENT surgeon I know has to d0 20 surgeries a day, almost every day.