“The study used data from the Current Population Survey and couldn’t adjust for a physician’s specialty or practice type, which may account for some of the gender pay gap.”
More males are cardiologists, ortho surgeons, etc, that make $400k+ a year. More women are OB’s, which is one of the lowest profit margin (usually barely break even or lose money) service lines, or PCP’s, which are the lowest paying docs. That study is like saying the pay gap between the president and nurses is because more nurses are women. Major uncontrolled variable.
Many studies reach conclusions that either don’t pass the logic test or over look the innocuous answer. It makes you wonder what false “science” we live by.
It is scary. I remember talking to a well-educated friend who was conflating “the most likely cause/outcome/whatever” with “the facts”. If we make decisions based on what is “most likely”, we will surely end up believing something or forming a basis with something that is incorrect.
Regarding pay for female physicians, you HAVE to look at not only specialty, but whether or not the females are working the same hours. For instance, my wife is a radiologist who was making exactly the same salary as her colleagues until she reduced her hours.
If you concede that more women than men are going to work less for family obligations, you can’t expect them to make the same amount of money yearly. Also, are the disparities in chosen specialty because of lack of opportunity, or do women choose certain specialties because it gives them more freedom to work less hours. A pediatrician or family doc may have way more flexibility than say a cardiothoracic or trauma surgeon.
That’s not to say that discrimination does not exist in the medical profession, but studies like this do not tell the whole story.
Re: HSA’s and wellnes programs, I would like to see a study linking the two to see if that would make a difference in reducing costs. If the employee has his/her own money at stake to use, that may prompt more participation and motive for following the wellness program recommendations.
Female doctors make $50,000 less than male doctors.
The study controlled for hours worked and years of experience. But it didn’t control for specialized training. Women tend to enter primary care rather than radiology and surgery. Basically, women who enter the medical profession choose a work/life balance that reduces their pay compared to men who work longer hours, and select higher-paying specialties.
I read this article on the news. It insinuated that bias or discrimination is why female doctors earn less than their male counterparts. But, the problem with this argument is that doctors are paid contractual rates that are set region wide. The only way bias could lead to lower female physician pay is if patients themselves don’t want to patronize a female physician.
It’s well known that women tend to work fewer hours to engage in child rearing. Male doctors may specialize areas that require a couple year more training, but are higher-paying specialties. Then they work 50 hours a week in order to earn $300,000. By contrast, female doctors specialize in more caregiver areas of medicine that may only pay $200,000 for a 40 hour a week workload. Then they may only work 30 hours a week because raising a family, having a home life and only earning $15,000 is preferable to working 50 hours a week.
According to Thomas Sowell, women with comparable experience and training to their male counterparts actually make more, probably due to anti-discrimination sentiment. Who knew that anti-discrimination actually creates discrimination? Not the general public, obviously.
“The study used data from the Current Population Survey and couldn’t adjust for a physician’s specialty or practice type, which may account for some of the gender pay gap.”
More males are cardiologists, ortho surgeons, etc, that make $400k+ a year. More women are OB’s, which is one of the lowest profit margin (usually barely break even or lose money) service lines, or PCP’s, which are the lowest paying docs. That study is like saying the pay gap between the president and nurses is because more nurses are women. Major uncontrolled variable.
Many studies reach conclusions that either don’t pass the logic test or over look the innocuous answer. It makes you wonder what false “science” we live by.
It is scary. I remember talking to a well-educated friend who was conflating “the most likely cause/outcome/whatever” with “the facts”. If we make decisions based on what is “most likely”, we will surely end up believing something or forming a basis with something that is incorrect.
Regarding pay for female physicians, you HAVE to look at not only specialty, but whether or not the females are working the same hours. For instance, my wife is a radiologist who was making exactly the same salary as her colleagues until she reduced her hours.
If you concede that more women than men are going to work less for family obligations, you can’t expect them to make the same amount of money yearly. Also, are the disparities in chosen specialty because of lack of opportunity, or do women choose certain specialties because it gives them more freedom to work less hours. A pediatrician or family doc may have way more flexibility than say a cardiothoracic or trauma surgeon.
That’s not to say that discrimination does not exist in the medical profession, but studies like this do not tell the whole story.
Re: HSA’s and wellnes programs, I would like to see a study linking the two to see if that would make a difference in reducing costs. If the employee has his/her own money at stake to use, that may prompt more participation and motive for following the wellness program recommendations.
Female doctors make $50,000 less than male doctors.
The study controlled for hours worked and years of experience. But it didn’t control for specialized training. Women tend to enter primary care rather than radiology and surgery. Basically, women who enter the medical profession choose a work/life balance that reduces their pay compared to men who work longer hours, and select higher-paying specialties.
I read this article on the news. It insinuated that bias or discrimination is why female doctors earn less than their male counterparts. But, the problem with this argument is that doctors are paid contractual rates that are set region wide. The only way bias could lead to lower female physician pay is if patients themselves don’t want to patronize a female physician.
It’s well known that women tend to work fewer hours to engage in child rearing. Male doctors may specialize areas that require a couple year more training, but are higher-paying specialties. Then they work 50 hours a week in order to earn $300,000. By contrast, female doctors specialize in more caregiver areas of medicine that may only pay $200,000 for a 40 hour a week workload. Then they may only work 30 hours a week because raising a family, having a home life and only earning $15,000 is preferable to working 50 hours a week.
According to Thomas Sowell, women with comparable experience and training to their male counterparts actually make more, probably due to anti-discrimination sentiment. Who knew that anti-discrimination actually creates discrimination? Not the general public, obviously.
Austin Frakt on Rand: Wellness programs don’t save money.
The best-designed wellness programs generally only save money if they sucessfully run off all the unhealthy employees.
You must choose your pool wisely.
“Interactive map shows how your premiums will likely change under ObamaCare.”
This will be more interesting once we have complete data on the “not expanding Medicaid” States.