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Costs have only excalated to where the average working person cannot afford even a doctor’s visit without insurance - only after insurance existed. Before that, doctors didn’t make outrageous amounts of money and people could afford to go to them.

Costs have escalated, but doctor's incomes have remained relatively stagnant. If you graduate from med school with, say, $150K in debt and you make $90K/yr, it's not a great economic proposition.

The average internal med doc here in the Midwest probably gets $45-55 per office visit (including your copay). You'd be better off paying cash, in many cases. It would make the doctor's job easier (no staff to fight insurance companies for their payment) and he would make more money with the reduced overhead.

I talked to one gastroenterologist who asserted he would make more money if every patient who was getting a colonoscopy just put a $100 bill on the counter when they came in. Insurance pays in the neighborhood of $300-350 for a colonoscopy. Getting reimbursed can be a little difficult, though.

Doctor's are forced to see more patients these days to make the same amount of money. Surely you've noticed that.

Yes, I know that real doctoring now takes a backseat to following the HMOs instructions and fighting with insurance companies. That’s another reason why eliminating insurance companies would be good.

But my sister, a neurologist, pulled in around $400K a year. That’s rather excessive, IMO. Specialists make a lot more money than GPs.

The average internal med doc here in the Midwest probably gets $45-55 per office visit (including your copay).

Wow, that's low. Here in CA, it's 100-150, depending on what's done. I noticed that the docs, dentists, etc in TX were also paid very little. It's sad for those that chose that profession and are just starting out. But there are some that are overpaid - plus the groups that rake in the bucks, like hospitals? Or perhaps the insurance companies make all the money.

Looking at it this way - if an employer paid around $20000 per employee for insurance (that's what my husband's company pays including his part), that money is going somewhere...