Sounds like Doctors need to take a pay cut. If we grow the healthcare economy any more half of America will be playing doctor on the other half.
It's not doctors' fees that are driving the cost of healthcare. And doctors have been swallowing cuts in reimbursement for years, for your information. Since most doctors and clinics are not government offices, we find ways to cut costs, boost production, etc, to maintain a reasonable income.
It's government regulations, the hostile medicolegal environment, and bureaucracy that make up the bulk of our healthcare costs. Doctors were far wealthier in the 1960's than they are now, and the inflation-adjusted costs of the healthcare system were a fraction of what they are now. The things that have changed since then all rest squarely in the hands of government: medicare, medicaid, and "managed care".
Don't get me started on "managed care". This is nothing more than a swindle that allows insurance companies (and Medicare and Medicaid) to regulate themselves at the expense of doctors and hospitals, and take a second bite (and a third, and a fourth) out of each healthcare apple.
But don't worry, doctors will swallow the bitter pill, because that's what we do. But don't count on seeing a doctor so easily 5 years from now. Many of us are planning to retire, quit, shift into less stressful jobs, and so forth. In 10 years you won't be able to see a MD or DO until you've been screened by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.
