tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post5681796827390407050..comments2023-11-18T01:21:55.631-05:00Comments on My Open Wallet: A Fascinating Look at Health Care CostsMadame Xhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-3906166084934974862009-07-03T08:09:31.675-04:002009-07-03T08:09:31.675-04:00One of my heroes (I'm a medical student) is a ...One of my heroes (I'm a medical student) is a doctor I met during my first year of medical school. He is working for the US military and will retire in under 10 years. He is also actively pursuing non-medical streams of revenue, such as real estate and maximizing his military retirement benefits. What leads him to do this? He told me: "I never want to be in a situation where I consider making a medical decision about a patient based on my own income." There are plenty of other factors which negatively affect care (insurance companies, lifestyle choices, etc.). I appreciate that mindset, and hope that I can do the same.<br />Jerry<br />www.leads4insurance.comJerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02297947643006068426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-27300573155993361122009-06-09T09:01:09.637-04:002009-06-09T09:01:09.637-04:00Agreed-- I know the loans must be a killer for mos...Agreed-- I know the loans must be a killer for most people. Just to be clear, I'm not at all saying that doctors shouldn't be very well-paid-- I think they provide an incredibly important service that requires a huge amount of education and deserve to be well-rewarded for it. But I'd like to think that could be possible without the kind of abuse of the system that this article describes.Madame Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11536189690094235926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14245531.post-21078099602230827562009-06-08T17:47:51.410-04:002009-06-08T17:47:51.410-04:00I'm a doctor myself (still in residency though...I'm a doctor myself (still in residency though). The toughest residencies to get into are the ones with least amount of work for most amount of money. I have close to $300k in school loans. While it's true that the reason why one goes into medicine (for some) is for heroic and altruistic reasons later on reality sets in and you have to pay back those loans somehow (usually at the same time when you're trying to start a family). If it wasn't for the loans I'd be happy to do what I am doing for half the pay. If medical reimbursements are cut back they should also cut back cost of getting a medical education.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com