Just 7% of U.S. healthcare spending goes to physicians!
Physicians are NOT responsible for the overspending in healthcare! Yet, why are we often blamed for this?
The CDC and CMS have published that “Physician and Clinical Services” account for 20% of healthcare spending in the US every year. BUT, this figure includes physician compensation AND all overhead associated with physician services, like office staff, office supplies, malpractice insurance, and of course, administration!
So when it gets down to it, the actual portion of healthcare spending in the U.S. that goes to physicians is less than HALF of that 20%. Based on how RVUs are divided up between work RVUs paid to physicians and overhead, we estimate the actual healthcare expenditure going to physicians to be just 7%! However, as is evident from recent Medicare proposal to slash payments to physicians (yet again!), there seems to be a significant misconception among the general public and some healthcare providers about where the majority of our healthcare spending actually goes.
Out of a humongous over $3 Trillion yearly healthcare expenditure in the U.S., a mere 7% goes to the doctors!
So where does the majority of our healthcare money go? Hospitals, pharmaceuticals, and medical group administrators! This is why we encourage all physicians to not be afraid to ask questions about the details of the finances surrounding their work and to not take these misconceptions at face value.
