Pediatricians salaries

[Anonymous]

I don't think people are proposing we pay them more, they want the insurance companies to give them more money. We all know the health care system is screwey. Personally, I'm anti-socialized Health Care, but that's not the point.

I can't believe $89K! I thought they made around $150K and that was low! I have heard from friends in Medical School that very few people want Internal Medicine or Pediatrics as their specialty because of the low pay. I mean, I have a bachelors and could make that money for FAR less hours than that. I have a friend who's husband is an anesthesiologist and plans to work for a hospital so he can make $180K and not have to work crazy hours and worry about the insurance policy he'd have to pay for working privately. Doctors just aren't the highly paid profession anymore. It is always listed on the top salaries list, but not for all specialties. It seems like now most people who make a ton of money work as CEOs or something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, I would not be willing to pay more, and honestly, I think that $150K is a decent salary. There are tons of people who are making a lot less.

I'm making a LITTLE less, but I only have a 2year degree from a community college (might as well only have a HS diploma). 150K is NOT alot for the sacrifice that doctors have to make in their career, he works 24hours a day, I work 8 and post on DCUM and google whaever else I want to learn about.

I see a high paid specialist for my child and at my appointments I always tell him to tell him to tell his wife and toddler when he goes home to thank them for sharing him with me and my son. I'm glad he makes a HUGE salary that I could only dream of-he deserves it. It would be criminal if he only made a "decent" salary of 150K. Doctors are not to be put in the ranks of us average workers, they are highly skilled, highly trained, and should be compensated well well above the average.

Soon we'll all be seeing LPNs and we'll have to have one foot in the grave before we can see a doctor because there simply won't be enough of them to fill the front line slots. Why do you think most of the HIGH end docs are immigrants from diffent countries? Because in their home country they cannot make decent money so the talent defects here.

[Anonymous]

If there needs to be higher premiums to catch up with techology-I am all for it. What I am not for is paying for people who either refuse to work or refuse to buy insurance and treat the ER like their GP. Sorry there are an awful lot of people who have put their money into other areas and only are interested in buying insurance if the government gives it to them--how many people do you know who complain about insurance but have a big screen tv or a new car? Bottom line is your insurance should be top priority and for too many people it isn't. As for the state of our healthcare system. I am satisfied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all the posters complaining about doctors' pay, are you willing to pay more either directly to the doctor's office or through higher insurance premiums? If not, where do you propose the additional money comes from?

No, I would not be willing to pay more, and honestly, I think that $150K is a decent salary. There are tons of people who are making a lot less.

Well whether you want to or not, you're going to have to soon enough if you want decent healthcare. I posted earlier and most decent doctors are accepting fewer and fewer insurance plans (if any) because of terrible reimbursements. And they are not doing that to be greedy, but just to survive. 150K is a decent salary if you don't also have $150K in student loans on top of a mortgage and other expenses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all the posters complaining about doctors' pay, are you willing to pay more either directly to the doctor's office or through higher insurance premiums? If not, where do you propose the additional money comes from?

That's just it actually. The insurance companies are doing way too much profit taking because they are virtually unregulated wrt premiums. What is a reasonable premium? Whatever a powerful lobbyist's backers think it should be. That is absurd. The doctors should get more of their fee back from the insurance co. And please no flaming about trial lawyers damage fees. Please. The insurance cos are taking way more than is necessary to cover that loss.

[Anonymous]

There is no easy solution to this problem. Doctors will complain that they are not making enough, patients will complain that they cannot afford to pay more and insurance companies will complain that they cannot reimburse more becasue they have higher cost (malpractice etc).

I do think that the worse argument that one can make it that doctors deserve to make more money. There are lot of professions that are equally worthly that make less - teachers, firefighters, police officers.

Also, the idea that doctors will simply abandon health insurance plans is also foolhardy, while doctors in the super wealthy urban areas can find a ready supply of wealth individuals who can pay out of pocket, this is not the case in most of the country and if all the "good" doctors more to DC, Hollywood or NYC, it will just put downward pressure on rates (supply and demand) and we will be right back where we started. Yes, doctors can also abandon the profession, but those who would quit just becasue they cannot afford that BMW, are not the one that I would want to go to anyway.

BTW, FWIW, I currently pay out of pocket and since my deductible is so high, I have yet to see a dime from my insurance company.

[Anonymous]

I am OP with no agenda. I just did the math on my sister-in-law's salary. (I am in HR). When I give her time and a half for hours after 5pm and and double time for hours after 11 pm, and a little for being available on beeper, it come out to about $41 per hour.
Also, pp, interior decorators in the DC area charge $150/hr.
Let's see the pediatrician that resuscitates your newborn will be lucky to get $100 and the decorator that picks paint colors gets more?
My issue is when I'm old, and need care, will it only be not so bright people taking care of me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am OP with no agenda. I just did the math on my sister-in-law's salary. (I am in HR). When I give her time and a half for hours after 5pm and and double time for hours after 11 pm, and a little for being available on beeper, it come out to about $41 per hour.
Also, pp, interior decorators in the DC area charge $150/hr.
Let's see the pediatrician that resuscitates your newborn will be lucky to get $100 and the decorator that picks paint colors gets more?
My issue is when I'm old, and need care, will it only be not so bright people taking care of me?

Yes. And thank you for doing the math to support your point.

[Anonymous]

The reason Docs salaries look so high is that the weekly hours are not factored in. 200 k at 80 hrs per week is less than 100 k on 40 hrs if you factor in the premium hours as op did.
I worked for an insurance company in claims, and at times (sadly) we laughed at the small checks we would send the docs.

[Anonymous]

OP again, The strangest part of this whole thing is that student loan debt can not be forgiven in bankruptcy. Which is true for everyone. But since MD's have such a large debt, they are committed to working ( hard) after med school. The loan seems to own them.
Canadian MDs education is so heavily subsidized that if a person wants to take time off, to raise a family for instance, they can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, The strangest part of this whole thing is that student loan debt can not be forgiven in bankruptcy. Which is true for everyone. But since MD's have such a large debt, they are committed to working ( hard) after med school. The loan seems to own them.
Canadian MDs education is so heavily subsidized that if a person wants to take time off, to raise a family for instance, they can.

"Working hard after med school" is not the only option open to doctors with high debt. There are lots of loan forgiveness programs, of course there is a catch - you have to "volunteer" to go an work in an underserved area.

[Anonymous]

That can mess up personal relationships like marriage, but it is an option. I heard that they expect at least 5 years of your time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, The strangest part of this whole thing is that student loan debt can not be forgiven in bankruptcy. Which is true for everyone. But since MD's have such a large debt, they are committed to working ( hard) after med school. The loan seems to own them.
Canadian MDs education is so heavily subsidized that if a person wants to take time off, to raise a family for instance, they can.

I don't think its "strange" that student loan debt cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy. My DH went to law school and many of his fellow classmates racked up $160K in loans before deciding they didn't really like being an attorney. I don't think the taxpayers should have to foot the bill for their education because they couldn't do a little research ahead of time!

That being said, insurance companies (and for-profit hospitals for that matter) make ridiculous profits and pay their top folks outrageous salaries, all the while nickle-and-diming both patients and doctors. A neurologist friend told me recently that in order to pay back your debt AND still have a decent quality of life, specialties are your only option. Pediatrics/GP/Internists are the ones that get the worst end of the deal.

[Anonymous]

I am laughing about the comment that doctors are on par with teachers and firefighters. Come on get serious. A teacher while a fine profession does not take 10 plus years of training just to get in the door not to mention the onerous qualifications like organic chemistry, physics..list goes on. Also again, teaching is fine but most teachers have summers off and all the holidays-lot of them have reimbersement for grad school and oh yes..when you retire and are allowed at a fairly young age you have an amazing pension program which includes healthcare..My friend who is a teacher makes 90K--good for her but she would be the first to tell you that she is not a doctor. Firefighter are also an honerable profession but you just need to pass the entrance exam and even have a college degree--on top of the fact that most of the country have parttime firefighters unless you live in a city. Doctors put in tons and tons of hours and their training is beyond brutal and of yes..they have the pressure of making sure they don't make a mistake or they have to live with the guilt of a lost life not to mention the liability. Oh yes..the liability--biggest problem in healthcare right now is the liability that doctors have and all the frivilous lawsuits that they have to deal with. If congress got one thing right they would put a cap on liability rewards. Doctors are again, for the most part, small business owners and have a right to develop their own business plans. I absolutely can understand why more and more are moving to taking direct payment--less hassle and more profit. Good for them.

[Anonymous]

I am a pediatrician. Full-time docs starting out make $90,000. I'm part-time, so I actually make proportionately less. I also have >$175,000 in school loans that I plan to pay back over 30 years, so while I make a decent living, I don't have any "extra" money each month.