dealing with insurance paperwork sounds like a second job in itself

It certainly is. They have to hire an office manager to handle all of it. Which raises their rates, which raises the insurance cost to us.

one prayer one care?

Ohhh we're halfway there

Ohhh we're livin' on a prayer!

Another huge expense for doctors is liability coverage.

We have this shit ass backwards. Cops should be forced to carry liability coverage out of pocket, not doctors.

And doctors should have a union.

I'll guess, and I'll say, like every other MD outside the USA.

This would be totally normal to do in a European country and aren't part of the local healthcare. I went to the dentist in Spain because finding one in England where I live is a nightmare and kind of expensive. I had a checkup, cleaning, and two x-rays for about €40. You had to book only a few days or maybe 1 week in advance instead of waiting months or having to go private. Didn't even ask for an x-ray either, that's their default standard of care for that price. They were able to confirm that I had a wisdom tooth and where it was located thanks to that x-ray. All for less than a good bottle of single malt.

If you need medical care in America or some services like a dentist in England your best bet is to get a cheap flight and leave the country for somewhere cheaper and with higher standards of care. That's how much better it is. You all need to stop making excuses for your shit healthcare system in places like America and England.

That's because you live in a place with single payer. In the US, a $35 flat rate can save a lot of lives for people who have no options.

Why do they even bother charging the patient at all if the vast majority of funding is coming from the national system?

In France the cost for a doctor's visit is 26€. 18.55€ is reimbursed by the public health care insurance and the rest is generally reimbursed by private insurance.

There is a big debate right now because the doctor's unions want the cost of the visit to go up to 30€ !

It’s not per hour, it’s per visit. I’ve rarely seen a regular doctor for more than 10 minutes at a time (typically it’s less than 5).

Maybe he saved up enough from his 4 years of being a doctor out in the mainstream system, and he invested his six-figure earnings from those 4 years, and he's living in a modest home, driving a modest car and living within his means. Not wealthy. But surviving okay.