| I’ll actually push back against this narrative. A large problem is that people are coming out with insurmountable debt burdens from professional school and are simply unable to balance that and the start up costs of a new practice. Combine that with states having adopted certificate of need requirements since the late 1980s, it is literally illegal for some doctors to even try to open their own practice. In my state, I legally cannot open a radiology imaging center without spending thousands of dollars on a petition to the department of community health begging “please approve my imaging center” which then is posted publicly on a tracker website where in-house counsel for every single health system / competitor can sue to block you from ever opening. They can also sue to block you from upgrading your equipment when it’s long out of date. It’s untenable. While I agree there are many problems with poor financial savvy amongst highly trained professionals, I also realize that the average debt burden is over 250k and practice start up costs are not getting cheaper. A PET or MR or CT could easily cost 500k-1million alone, without including real estate costs, building/renovation costs, or bribes/legal fees battling for the right to open your doors. |