Here's How Much Money Doctors in America Actually Make

Business Insider ^ | 04/21/2014 | LAUREN F FRIEDMAN

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Medscape, a subsidiary of the medical information website WebMD, has released its 2014 Physician Compensation Report. The data in the report come from more than 24,000 doctors in 25 specialties, who responded to Medscape's annual survey with information on their compensation for 2013.

The infographic below shows the average earnings for each surveyed specialty. Orthopedists were the highest earners:

In an explanation of their findings, Medscape notes that: "As in the past, those who perform procedures have the highest incomes compared with those who manage chronic illnesses." Some primary care practices saw a slight increase in earnings, "which could reflect early changes in reimbursement resulting from the Affordable Care Act."

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[Alex Murphy]

Interesting. Higher than I thought.

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[al baby]

bm

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[17th Miss Regt]

All of them should make no more than $100,000 per year. It’s only fair. Reallty, no one should make more than 10 times the minimum wage. That’s just social justice. (/Bolshevism)

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[logic101.net]

They need high incomes to pay off their debts.

[2ndDivisionVet]

I made quite a bit more in sales with merely a high school diploma (at the time) in the 1980’s (when it bought a lot more). I can’t even imagine how much I could make now with if my health was good and with a BA. I’m glad some people want to get into medicine, but if it’s money you’re after there are easier routes.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: I made quite a bit more in sales with merely a high school diploma (at the time) in the 1980’s (when it bought a lot more).

Just curious, what product were you selling?

[MPJackal]

I am going to have to call bullshit here. I may be wrong, but I have doctors and dentist in the family and $250K is low. Now I don't know what math they are using and what items they deduct from their total income, but $250K is not their total compensation. Might be total “profit”. Pull out malpractice insurance, membership to various organizations,..... Just my observations.

[Michael.SF.]

It would be interesting to see a comparison to income increases over time (say 2013 vs 2003)

[2ndDivisionVet]

Payphones (remember those?) and legal services. The payphones averaged $900 a day (two placements) but I had a lot of $20-40,000 days. Now think back and remember what things cost back then.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Lots of people want ER, VAMC and other similar gigs because there is no malpractice insurance required, IIRC.

[proxy_user]

What is interesting is if you compare these incomes to what similar physicians make in Switzerland and Germany, two comparable countries.

[Mastador1]

Interesting. Higher than I thought.

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see if the figures were gross or net. Is it before malpractice insurance, rent, equipment and payroll? If so it gives a false impression, also how much did getting their medical school cost?

[Gay State Conservative]

I'm quite familiar with the world of medicine,having worked for 20+ years for one of the world's most famous hospitals.Osama Obama & Pals just don't know how difficult it is to reach the point where a physician is skilled enough to needlessly amputate a person's leg just to make a quick $10K.Four years of undergrad,four years medical school,anywhere between two and ten years post graduate training and *then* you can look forward to 70 hour work weeks.As just one example of that long work week...my cardiologist,a senior staff member of the same hospital for whom I worked,just sent me an email a week or so ago telling me to adjust my meds.He sent it at 10:30PM.

Osama Obama & Pals are playing the class envy game...again.And there are enough parasite Americans who believe it to make these very,*very* dangerous times.

[Gadsden1st]

Nothing in the survey showed what their insurance cost were.

Florida has some of the highest rates of liability insurance. Moreover, the deviation between low and high averages varies in Florida more widely than in almost any other state. For instance, a doctor in internal medicine in Florida could expect to pay in excess of $56,000 per year for insurance as of 2009, in contrast with Minnesota’s $4,000. General surgeons paid in between $90,000 per year and $175,000 per year or more. OB/GYNs once again could expect the highest rates, with liability coverage ranging from $100,000 to $200,000 per year.

[Gay State Conservative]

Lots of people want ER, VAMC and other similar gigs because there is no malpractice insurance required, IIRC.

Occasional gigs in an ER aren't as easy to come by as they once were...for the "typical" physician,at least.Years ago a physician could say "I'm board certified in Internal Medicine,Pediatrics or General Surgery and the job was theirs.But today more and more ERs insist on board certification in "Emergency Medicine",a specialty that's only started to grow in the last 10-15 years.