# Salary cap for healthcare administrators **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 18, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616 "2014-12-18T22:39:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/1 "2014-12-18T22:39:31Z")
A large part of the excessive price of healthcare is from high administrative salaries. Why don’t we set a cap? IIRC another major issue is people running away without paying their bills, maybe if costs were lower it would cut down on that. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/2 "2014-12-18T22:42:41Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > IIRC another major issue is people running away without paying their bills, maybe if costs were lower it would cut down on that. There need to be stiff penalties for people who can well afford to pay but instead pull this sort of shenanigan. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/3 "2014-12-18T22:54:14Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > There need to be stiff penalties for people who can well afford to pay but instead pull this sort of shenanigan. Do you have evidence that this happens a lot? Also be sure not to include people who end up paying significantly lower than they were originally billed. A few months ago I injured my hand and needed surgery to repair the tendon and a nerve. I went out of network in order to get a expert hand surgeon. Then the bills started coming. Grand total initially billed for a 3 hour surgery after insurance $60,000. Actual amount they expected me to pay, after insurance with little or no negotiation on my part, about $3,000. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/4 "2014-12-18T22:54:26Z")
It’s treating a symptom, not a cause. Administrator salaries are subject to market forces, so all you would achieve is reducing quality of encouraging workaround. It’s not like we don’t know how to make a healthcare model that works. Basically every industrialized country has one. We just choose not to. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/5 "2014-12-19T00:00:40Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > A large part of the excessive price of healthcare is from high administrative salaries. Why don’t we set a cap? A large part of the price of whatever product or service you provide is from high salaries of people like you. Why don’t we set a cap on your salary? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/6 "2014-12-19T00:06:30Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > There need to be stiff penalties for people who can well afford to pay but instead pull this sort of shenanigan. I have a Facebook friend who, along with her husband, did this kind of thing, when they were younger and very foolish. They were not allowed to own property for 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/7 "2014-12-19T00:17:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > A large part of the price of whatever product or service you provide is from high salaries of people like you. Why don’t we set a cap on your salary? Without endorsing the OP in any way, part of the issue here is that health care is fundamentally different than optionally buying an Xbox or a new car. You won’t die if you don’t get the iPhone 6 in the first year of release, but if you have a stroke you will die if you don’t get care immediately. Stories abound about people who _had_ insurance, but got taken by the ambulance to an out-of-network hospital. Bang. What should have been a $250 or $500 co-pay is now a $150,000 bill. Now, I have no idea how much of that $150k is due to administrator salaries (although I do know that the executives at our local major “non-profit” RMC are making a pretty sporty living), but I can’t really blame people for asking the question. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/8 "2014-12-19T00:27:55Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > A large part of the excessive price of healthcare is from high administrative salaries. Why don’t we set a cap? IIRC another major issue is people running away without paying their bills, maybe if costs were lower it would cut down on that. CEO salaries are huge, but that is not limited to health care. Have a cite that standard administrative salaries are out of line? As for the second part, I somehow doubt the healthcare companies are turning a blind eye to those not paying bills. In one case they chased after someone for about two years for not paying for a pap smear. It was for my father-in-law. It took a long time for him to convince them that he probably didn’t have the test done. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/9 "2014-12-19T00:43:04Z")
The salaries that are huge, by world standards, aren’t administrators, but doctors. But in politics, you don’t screw with doctors. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/10 "2014-12-19T01:00:50Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The salaries that are huge, by world standards, aren’t administrators, but doctors. But in politics, you don’t screw with doctors. Its considerably harder and more expensive to be a doctor rather than an administrator. Why not go after lawyers? The threat of lawsuits results in a lot of over-testing. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/11 "2014-12-19T02:46:03Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > A large part of the excessive price of healthcare is from high administrative salaries. Why don’t we set a cap? IIRC another major issue is people running away without paying their bills, maybe if costs were lower it would cut down on that. This is just silly. Go after the administrators, instead of the people who aren’t paying their bills? Really? ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/12 "2014-12-19T02:53:48Z")
Lower salaries= lower prices. Lower prices mean more people can afford the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/13 "2014-12-19T02:59:12Z")
Lower wages could also lead to shortages in the administrative labor force. After all, someone who is a good administrator could probably apply their skills in a variety of fields, not just health care. How well do you think your hospital or health care plan would run if there aren’t enough people to run it? I agree with others who said you’re focused on a symptom, not the cause. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/14 "2014-12-19T03:06:17Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Lower salaries= lower prices. Lower prices mean more people can afford the bill. That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/15 "2014-12-19T03:37:01Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works. I unfriend you. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/16 "2014-12-19T07:54:41Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > A large part of the excessive price of healthcare is from high administrative salaries. Why don’t we set a cap? IIRC another major issue is people running away without paying their bills, maybe if costs were lower it would cut down on that. Do you have cites to back up the assertion that administrative salaries are high? ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/17 "2014-12-19T11:54:35Z")
Very poor understanding of basic economics. You can go to the lower paid administratively run hospital. I’ll take the one with administrative employees paid market rates. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/18 "2014-12-19T12:17:16Z")
Umm…probably don’t understand the question. What is a healthcare administrator? If my children are sick, I take them to a GP (General Practitioner). If they are really sick he refers them to a hospital. It happened when my precious baby girl had a rinovirus infection. Terrifying for us as parents but she was treated and saved. No payment of any kind required, just our tearful thanks to the doctors and nurses. Thats normal for everybody surely. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/19 "2014-12-19T14:44:57Z")
[QUOTE=boffking] A large part of the excessive price of healthcare is from high administrative salaries. [/QUOTE] What percentage of the excess is from high salaries? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616/20 "2014-12-19T15:00:43Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Umm…probably don’t understand the question. What is a healthcare administrator? I’m assuming he means the management that runs hospitals, takes care of business decisions including billing and maintenance, etc. Basically, everyone involved in health care except doctors, nurses, techs and patients. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salary-cap-for-healthcare-administrators/707616.md?page=2)