Are Doctors Overpaid?
It's Match Week, when med students apply for residencies. An economist argues this residency system is a key reason why U.S. doctors are paid around twice much as doctors in other rich nations.
by Greg Rosalsky
Mar 12, 2019
3 minutes
NOTE: This is an excerpt of Planet Money's newsletter. You can sign up here.
Every year, medical students apply for residencies at hospitals around the country through the National Resident Matching Program. It's like a dating app for med students and hospitals, and it culminates this Friday, which is Match Day, when more than 30,000 students find out who they've got a really long date with.
Some people view Match Week as, say this residency system makes health care dramatically more expensive for Americans. A 2011 study in found American doctors, who make , are paid as doctors in other rich countries.
You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.
Start your free 30 days