[analog31]

Doctors salaries don't tell the whole story. I've read that roughly half of doctors are self employed. They are also the owners, or major shareholders, in medical related businesses such as provider networks and malpractice insurance companies. Being a doctor means that you can make what I call "insider investments" that aren't available to the public, and the cost of training ensures that the only people who are doctors, have family money available to invest in those businesses.

The rat's nest of business entities makes it impossible to figure out where the money is going, or who is making how much. That way, everybody can point the finger at somebody else. I suspect a reason why medicine costs less in countries with nationalized systems is that it's possible to figure out where the costs are going.

I'd favor a system where medical school is free, and doctors work as employees of the government.