Best Answer
In order to determine whether there should be more financial support given to physicians who practice primary care, we have to first determine some facts about primary care physicians, their costs, their salaries, and other financial factors. While the average annual salary of a primary care physician varies by state, the average appears to be from $130k a year to around $220k a year. This breaks down to around $75 to $120 an hour.
At first glance, that salary seem very comfortable and may leave people wondering if financial support for the position is warranted. However, in reality that is a small salary for doctors. Doctors who specialize tend to make significant more income. Dermatologists have a salary range of around $170k to $500k per year; pulmonologists around $210k to $390k per year, gynecologists around $220k to $410k per year; etc. In other words, specialists tend to make a significantly higher salary than primary care physicians. However, people need primary care physicians more than specialists. A primary care physician is in charge of managing overall patient health and coordinating care with other doctors.
With medical school costing anywhere from $150k to $250k and beyond, and doctors putting off earning for their time in school, it is important to keep medicine a highly compensated field. Without that compensation, many qualified people would not enter into medicine. In fact, because most people going through medical school have to use school loans to finance their education, it would simply not be possible for them to do so without the promise of higher pay. Currently, primary care physicians are looking at entry-level salaries that they could easily earn with less rigorous degree plans. As a result, increasing financial support for primary care physicians is likely to attract and retain more highly qualified candidates in the field.
