You're not wrong that physicians are an artificially restricted job market. The consequence is that most people actually spend very little time with one; PAs and nurses do a lot of what a doctor used to do.
Rather than doctors salaries driving up health care, there are fewer doctors serving more patients. A substantial amount of the increase in health care is the fancy facilities, high tech equipment, and the under-charging by medicaid and medicare for services.
On the one hand, I know a doctor who was essentially paid by medicaid less than minimum wage for certain treatments. On the other hand, I paid cash for a pre-surgery physical to make sure I was healthy enough for the surgery (I showed up thinking they were in my insurance network, and they were not).
Basically, a couple hundred bucks down the drain for a nurse to take my temperature, blood pressure, height, weight, and for a doctor to look at me and say "yup, you're good to go".
There are doctors in my extended family. . . the way their referral networks work and the way they can restrict who can practice in the same town/area is straight up mafia.
Rather than doctors salaries driving up health care, there are fewer doctors serving more patients. A substantial amount of the increase in health care is the fancy facilities, high tech equipment, and the under-charging by medicaid and medicare for services.
On the one hand, I know a doctor who was essentially paid by medicaid less than minimum wage for certain treatments. On the other hand, I paid cash for a pre-surgery physical to make sure I was healthy enough for the surgery (I showed up thinking they were in my insurance network, and they were not).
Basically, a couple hundred bucks down the drain for a nurse to take my temperature, blood pressure, height, weight, and for a doctor to look at me and say "yup, you're good to go".