[mo]

I'm curious Polycarp...just how many of your patients do you think completely understood exactly what the limits and depth of their Medicare coverage actually was?

[Polycarp]

Given the entitlement mentality of the retirement population, who demand that every conceivable medical treatment be covered, few if any understand the limits. They think they payed their dues and society owes them everything and anything they ask for, even though it comes out of my pocket and yours.

One other note: young docs like myself are simply self employed small businessmen. While we struglle to get a practice going, we get forebearance on our student loans.

I graduated with $117,000 debt in 1992, did three years residency, and I've been in practice 7 years. At no time during those intervening years have I made enough money to pay the $2000 per month student loan payments. In fact, for the vast majority of that time, most months I took home less than that.

After paying interest on the original loans and interest on the interest for 10 years, my student loan debt has almost doubled to $225,000.

My income still is not high enough to make the payments.

And even though I'm married with three young children, I cannot afford health insurance.

A fed job with a good pay scale, benefits, and retirement looks awefully good from the hole I'm in.