One issue that's talked about less frequently is how high US doctor incomes are compared to other countries. The average doctor in Japan made ~$105,000 USD [1] in 2014, whereas in the US the average primary care doctor made $195,000 and the average specialist made $284,000 [2]. Anecdotally, I had an eye infection in Mexico and was seen by an ophthalmologist the same day for an $8 consult fee and treated with antibiotics that cost $20, using the exact same techniques and equipment that would have cost me hundreds of dollars in the US.

We're paying our doctors sometimes double what they make in other countries and receiving inferior health outcomes. It's easy to vilify the AMA but our doctors also have an unusually high amount of risk and obligation when it comes to malpractice, which wouldn't go away if everyone magically was on Medicare For All tomorrow.

To reduce health care costs, someone needs to get squeezed... but who? Reducing doctor salaries will lead to a shortage of doctors unless there's some additional action on easing the education burden they presently have to take on.

[1] http://nbakki.hatenablog.com/entry/Annual_Salary_by_Occupati... (2014) [2] https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-salary-does-a-docto... (2014)

The AMA most certainly needs to be vilified. It actively lobbied to limit the number of residency slots thus leading to doctor shortage and higher prices. It even indulged in price-fixing and opposed retail clinics that could offer competitive pricing.

https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/julyaugust-2013/speci... https://mises.org/library/how-government-helped-create-comin... https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/thanks-to-doctors-there-a...

Healthcare admin jobs should be drastically curtailed.

I’d argue part of the cost of healthcare should be educating and training doctors. So there is control over number of doctors. Best way to reduce their salaries is increasing supply.

in the US, you are allowed to buy a ferrari or a geo.

in mexico, they only make geos. So prices reflect that.

in the US, you are only allowed to supply healthcare if you buy into $500,000 of loans and give up 6 years of your life. The AMA and government have mandated it to be so.

That's the price of a ferrari. US Medical salaries reflect that medical ferrari

High quality care in Japan? this claim is debunked when you see doctors dont spend more than 5 minutes with patients, barely do any tests before giving out medications by the dozen for most medical conditions. If that is high quality care it is seriously laughable.

To be sure you'd have to run a study where you compare outcomes vs spending a bunch of time with each patient and doing a bunch of tests..

Oh wait...