I understand this is why the US has such a shortage of GPs. Being a specialist is just much more lucrative. And the US system probably encourages a greater amount of financially motivated people to seek medicine as a career in medicine.
How does worker's compensation and other forms of liability insurance work in a single-payer system?
My nephew the anesthetist(?) told me he was pretty sure my step-brother the neurosurgeon got a $500,000 bonus just for signing up with a particular surgical institute about a decade ago. Both live in the USA.
Last I heard, GPs in Canada were making an average $200,000 per year.
I just read that it averages about $339,000, but that includes all disciplines.
Gosh. That’s poverty wages.
I’m a public school teacher with a master’s degree and 25 years’ experience and I make a whopping $63,000/yr.
Is that gross or take-home?
Note that (like the USA) a doctor typically runs a clinic, pays rent, buys supplies and equipment, pays a receptionist who also handles paperwork and appointments, and may also include a nurse or some assistant. They may economize by participating in a common clinic with several other doctors to share some overhead. Also note that that’s not real dollars, it’s the northern peso. It works out to $254,000 in real dollars.
The article says that’s gross.
That’s gross.
After-expense income is $125,000.
The article is from 2011, but it wouldn’t have changed much.
And, yeah that’s CDN, or .75 USD.
Also note, toward the OP’s question, that with no medical bills to sue for - unlike the USA, the other countries do not have their doctor making huge contributions to a malpractice insurance fund to help buy Lamborghinis for trial lawyers. From what I read, some specialist in the USA who can do the most damage, like anesthetists and obstetricians, could pay up to half their gross income in malpractice premiums.
I think that might be a bit of confusion of different sorts of pay arrangements in Britain. That looks more like what a senior specialist hospital doctor would make here: what we call a consultant, leading a specialist clinical team, probably also taking on additional professional or academic leadership functions (for which they would make extra money on top of their NHS salary).
A partner in a primary care general practice (which would normally be a group practice of self-employed partners on contract to the NHS, employing support and paramedical staff and some salaried GPs as well) might get not far off that, depending on how many patients they’re contracted for, and what they take out of the practice after all the other expenses their NHS contract will cover. But their salaried GPs, like the junior hospital doctors in the various stages of professional qualification after medical school, will be on quite a bit less.
Bear in mind that exchange rates have changed dramatically since 2011. A GP makes 56-85 thousand pounds per year. The median figure of 70K works out to $87K right now, but was equivalent to over $110K in 2011. The rate has gone from $1.61/pound to $1.24.
A related question: What happens if I get sick or injured while visiting Canada, a lovely country I have never visited? I assume I go to the nearest appropriate care provider, but then who pays for that? I believe my medical insurance has a plan for travelling outside the USA, but what if I don’t have insurance of any kind?
These days I believe you’ll be billed for it. (It would be interesting to know if there’s a price difference for services you’re paying out of pocket for!)
( But back in the day, when I was at uni, all my foreign student roomies got free coverage while in Canada. Of course, not nearly the number of foreign students back then, as we have today. )
There’s a thread for that:
Just like me in the USA - better have travel insurance. The province will bill you for it, and possibly take it to collection. Not sure how compassionate provinces are, or what assets you have. I read about some Polish woman who went into labour while visiting Canada. Allegedly she ended up with a medical bill of around $20,000.
I am amazed nowadays that I used to motorcycle across the USA, several times in the 1980’s, without a thought to health insurance. But then, I didn’t have much in the way of assets, either.
A friend of mine told me of his uncle, who spent his winters in Texas. Friends found him in his own soiled bed, he’d had a stroke a day or two before and was partially paralyzed. they took the rear seat out of their van, loaded him in, and drove non-stop to the Canadian border. Cheaper and less hassle than taking him to a local hospital, he didn’t have health insurance.
Just want to add - you will not be turned away from a hospital in an emergency. You would be admitted after triage, and eventually they would figure out how to bill you or your travel insurance company. Not sure what happens for a simple doctor visit, but even if you had to pay cash, the bill should not be anywhere near as horrendous as some stories about the USA. I hope.
Legitimate residents of Canada like immigrants and students on a visa are covered at various points depending on various provincial rules. At one point, snowbirds who did not get back to Canada within the 6-month period were forced to wait 3 months to re-qualify for coverage, but I think most provinces have changed that now - you’re covered the day you get back over a certain age?
The thread referenced says, in 2009, that Canadian employers pay for health care unless unemployed. Never heard of that. AFAIK none of the provinces even have a premium for coverage - it’s general revenue. Employers are not involved. They optionally would pay for supplementary benefits - ambulance rides, dental, prescriptions (not covered by UHC in Canada except while in the hospital).
Its not quite what you asked, but I feel its relevant: I once asked a friend who is a physician what happens is I have friends from the US visiting me here in Norway, and they get ill.
He said they could go to the public hospital, which would bill them afterwards, or a private one. Then he paused and added “The private one would probably expect them to actually pay the bill though”
Here, you are covered for healthcare if you are a legal resident. In addition there are reciprocal agreements with a number of other nations healthcare systems, so they count as residents here and we count as residents there.
It best to have insurance, but outside the US, healthcare is not generally that expensive a service.
Collecting an outstanding bill from a resident of another country is always an interesting proposition; I suppose the biggest determinant is how much money is involved. Is a government entity in Norway going chase someone in the USA for $300? Probably not worth the hassle. For $30,000? Probably worth it… if the mark has $30,000 to collect on. Canadian entity collecting on debt in USA? Probably a lot easier.