Yes

by Tracy Lynn Smith

Created on: March 04, 2010   Last Updated: September 26, 2010

Doctors do make an unfair amount of money. I understand that doctors have to do a lot more college and have larger college bills then most people. However, the doctor bill for my husband’s ER visit for a kidney stone was $500. The doctor saw my husband for a total of ten minutes. There was a separate bill for the hospital so this was purely for the doctor’s bill. If the doctor gets only one patient per hour for an eight hour shift; he would make $4,000 a day. Yet a working family with two parents work and good pay at $10 per hour would only makes $3,200 per month. Why does a doctor make much more then a hard working couple in just one day? Plus many doctors see more then one patient an hour.

Even when you look at a regular doctor’s office, I have lived without insurance so I have checked some of the rates, most office visit start at $80 per visit. On Average the doctor spends about fifteen minutes with each patient. That is $320 per hour. Now that money needs to be spent to cover the costs for the nurse and office personnel. Say the staff at the doctor office make $10 an hour, and two employees. That will leave the doctor making $300 per hour which is $48,000 per month. Pay for the building including utilities, we’ll go high, $1,500 per month. Plus Benefit package for the two employees and need insurance for the practice, again rounding up, $5,000. This leaves doctor with his own office a profit of $41,500 per month which translate to over to $498,000 a year. This may not be exact, but it a good example. Specialist doctor like a rheumatologist appointments start at $150.

No one needs to make that much money in one year. That’s why the insurance company is charging so much; they need to cover the doctor’s bills. I know my work insurance would cost $600 per month for the whole family. That is almost one week worth of work for me and I would still have to pay co-pays for doctor’s visit. This is why so many people can’t afford insurance or medical treatment.

This is just a large unfair amount. Considering $38,400 is what an average working couple makes at $10 an hour. What good does it do to have all the advance medical treatments if most the people who need the treatment can’t afford them?

I think doctors can easily cut the charges in half and still live high on the hog. Another reason why doctors charge so much is all the suing that goes on. Doctors are humans and should be allowed a margin for mistakes. They should only be sued if they are careless, not over a mistake.

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