Did not ask nor do I want your sympathy. I chose my career. The problem I have is that the rules change all too frequently, and it is done not by my employer, but by the government which is supposed to represent me. To this day, and it has been so for the past thrity years, the Congress must vote each year whether or not to cut what is paid from Medicare. Each year the threat comes for 3% or more. Since I started activep ractice the reimbursement for procedures has decreased, in some areas up to 20%. There is no such thing as a COLA nor increase that has been implemented in an effort to retain physicians who want to accept and care for Medicare / Medicaid patients.
All you hear is that the "rich doctors" are taking our money, don't pay their taxes, getting rich off the sick and indigent. And yes, there are some unscruptulous thieves out there in this profession, as there is in any profession. Most however, work hard, much more than 50-60 hours a week, and are on call most holidays, and pay their taxes. The interest on their loans and theirs kids' college loans are not tax deductible because they "don't fit the criteria". But I am not bitter about my profession, what I hate most is the misconception.
If you work for a living you know how important it is to be paid for your labor, because if you are self employed you have costs and responsibilities to your employees. when the government says "we will pay you 60% and you can wait 6-7 weeks to get it", it sometimes akes you leery that they have your best interest at heart.
I do not begrudge the unions, but I would find it hard to pay my hard earned money to an organization if there was no need for them in my place of employment. If I was happy, paid on time, had good benefits and a compfortable place to work, without the union, then why would I want to pay them extra each month? That was my contention on the VW thread. The employees were happy and the majority said they did not need it, and I can see where they were coming from. In my profession, the federal government has said that physicians cannot be part of colective bargaining, yet they decide what you will be paid and when you will be paid, and how may hoops you must jump thru to qualify for that payment. the AHA adds hundreds of pages of regulations to what is already a very stressful job, on top of adding more costs to that doctor to implement. Now however the charge cannot be passed onto the patient if you accept their insurance, you just have to eat it. The newest numbers show that the EMR recommendations in the AHA will cost the average physican office about $75K to implement. That is money he or she cannot recover.