Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJess
Anyway... this is my actual contribution:
We will never have nationalized healthcare in the US because the doctors would never allow it. Think about the salaries of doctors now... and after the government is in charge of their pay. One of the simplest reasons for that is that schooling to become a doctor is both grueling and HUGELY expensive. They are several hundred thousand dollars in debt by the time they're done. And they're supposed to be okay with getting paid maybe 100K a year? After all that training?
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The doctors made their own guild and they more or less control who gets in to their guild. They themselves are largely responsible for contriving the shortage. There are other ways of training doctors, and it's by no means certain that the way it's done now is the best.
As for doctor pay, let me say this:
Fuck 'em.
The AMA was a major reason why the US doesn't have a better health system. They ran a big campaign against Truman's scheme back in '48-'50. They thought that if they could keep the gummint out that they could all buy Cadillacs & 2nd homes & golf club memberships in sunny Florida. Well, live by the capitalist sword, die by the capitalist sword. HMOs and insurance firms aren't interested in doctors making a lot of money. You join up with HMO and accept what they throw you, or you're on your own with patients, who as a group, are less able to pay.