More Doctors Becoming Employees

An increasing number of doctors are moving to salaried hospital jobs, says the New York Times.

– In 2004, physician placement firm Meritt Hawkins saw 11 percent of job offers filled involving hospital employment.
– Last year, that number skyrocketed to 64 percent.
– Over the next two years, Merritt Hawkins expects that figure to reach 75 percent.
– Rather than work independently, 60 percent of family doctors and pediatricians are classified as employees.
– The same is true for half of all surgeons in the United States and a quarter of all surgical subspecialists (earn, nose and throat surgeons, for example).

But will this move toward salaried doctors lead to lower costs? That question is unclear.

“In many places, the trend will almost certainly lead to more expensive care in the short run,” said Robert Mechanic, an economist who studies health care at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

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