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The fantastically wealthy physician (who, if you are referring to American doctors, happen to have consistently been the BEST in the world) is an historical anomaly seen only from 1955 to 2035.

If I could have found a neurosurgeon to save my son's life, all of my worldly possessions would have been a small price to surrender to him/her.

I wonder why the best doctors throughout the world want to practice in the United States. Perhaps it has something to do with being paid well for their services.

'The fantastically wealthy physician (who, if you are referring to American doctors, happen to have consistently been the BEST in the world) is an historical anomaly seen only from 1955 to 2035.'
If I could have found a neurosurgeon to save my son's life, all of my worldly possessions would have been a small price to surrender to him/her.

I wonder why the best doctors throughout the world want to practice in the United States. Perhaps it has something to do with being paid well for their services.

I am sorry for your loss. My point was simple: capitalism doesn't give a sh*t about how much money you think you are worth. A surgeoen is worth plenty in 2003 because no machine can do his work -- yet. Give it another 30-40 years and robot docs will be besting humans. Another fall-out from IT. Knowledge-based professions are ripe for replacement by Asians who can use IT to do them -- something available only within the past several years.

Like it or not, we are now in a global economy where the cheapest competent labor is used. You can't send a sweater by email but you can a medical diagnosis. And so it goes.

only the wealthy and the elites will have access to the kind of american health care we have all become accustomed to. do you think Katie Couric is going to have her colon examined by some lowlife who graduated from a med school in the third world? no, this "low cost" health care is the only thing that us "little people" will have access to.

If I could have found a neurosurgeon to save my son's life, all of my worldly possessions would have been a small price to surrender to him/her.

Having a neurosurgeon father-in-law I understand something about the medical situations they confront daily. I would not want the stress and pressure of dealing with cases that too often have the odds against them. I'm sorry to hear your son was not saved.

From what I've seen highly trained physician specialists earn what they're paid - and their patients are pleased to have such expertise available to them.