Do doctors get paid less in countries with free healthcare?

Asked by: Leonor Medhurst  |  Last update: November 10, 2025
Score: 4.7/5 (6 votes)

Do doctors get paid less in countries with free healthcare? - Quora. Well, yes, but not for any reasons related to universal healthcare (no one outside the USA has ever imagined that it's free). The reasons are all related to the unique dysfunctions of healthcare specifically in the USA.

Would doctors be paid less if healthcare was free?

Nothing is free and no, they would not be paid less. Salaries are mostly based on locations. Of course they would, and in addition if a doctor worked the hours they work now, they would not make more money because they would all be unionized government employees.

How do doctors get paid in Canada if healthcare is free?

Doctors in private practice are generally paid through fee-for-service schedules that itemize each service and pay a fee to the doctor for each service rendered. These are negotiated between each provincial and territorial government and the medical professions in their respective jurisdictions.

Are doctors paid less in other countries?

Doctors often command some of the highest salaries across careers in nations around the world. But doctor pay by country varies quite a bit, with some physicians in first-world nations taking home considerably more per year than those in smaller or less-developed countries.

How do doctors get paid in places with free healthcare?

Physicians were paid—sometimes wholly, sometimes in part—from the public purse depending on their location. In Ontario for example, the province would cover 80% of the negotiated fee, and physicians were entitled to bill patients privately for the remaining 20%.

Countries That Will Pay You to Live There

33 related questions found

What are the downsides of free healthcare?

Disadvantages of universal healthcare include significant upfront costs and logistical challenges. On the other hand, universal healthcare may lead to a healthier populace, and thus, in the long-term, help to mitigate the economic costs of an unhealthy nation.

How do countries with free healthcare pay for it?

The Beveridge Model. The Beveridge model is often referred to as "free" healthcare because it is funded by taxes. In this system, the government owns and operates most hospitals and clinics. A well-known example is the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which was designed by William Beveridge.

Why do doctors in America earn so much?

One basic reason why doctors earn a lot is that medical care costs a lot, researchers say. And the federal government largely sets those prices. Medicare, the federal insurance program, establishes prices for medical services.

What country pays doctors the lowest?

Madagascar. As one of the top 10 lowest paying countries for doctors, Madagascar's healthcare system is underfunded and lacks resources, leading to limited financial support for medical professionals.

Do doctors get paid more in Canada or the USA?

The U.S. generally offers lower taxes and higher average salaries across medical specialties. Canadian doctors have lower education, insurance and operational costs.

Why are doctors taxed so much?

As a physician you likely make multiple six-figures a year, which puts you into a higher tax bracket and makes you ineligible for certain tax deductions. Utilizing pre-tax retirement accounts at your job and other tax-efficient vehicles, such as an HSA, Dependent Care FSA, or 457b plan, can help reduce your tax burden.

Who has the best healthcare in the world?

The Legatum Prosperity Index 2023

According to the index, Singapore ranks first for healthcare, followed by Japan in second place and South Korea in third. In contrast, the United States ranks much lower, coming in at 69th place in this assessment. The full rankings are listed below.

Is healthcare 100% free in Canada?

In Canada's health care system, some services are free at the point of service while others require the patient to pay a fee. Roughly 70% of health care spending in Canada is covered by the government, paid for with tax dollars. (Some of those services may still require some payment from the patient.)

Why does the US still not have free healthcare?

Groups with significant economic resources have long been opposed to universal health insurance. We have a political system so sophisticated about finding the middle ground that we have had long periods in which the parties have been essentially even in their control of power in the national government.

Why do so many doctors oppose single-payer health care?

Firstly, single-payer systems allocate disproportionate market power to the buy side of health care, which allows government to keep prices at the minimum necessary to keep providers in the system. Providers understandably may question the fairness of so asymmetric a distribution of market power in a health system.

Do doctors in Canada get paid less?

Canadian physicians' GROSS PAY (i.e. before taxes, before deductions, before physician costs) are about 95% of the GROSS PAY for US physicians. Canadian physicians' NET PAY (i.e. after taxes, after deductions, after physician costs) are about 150% of (I.E 50% more) than the NET PAY for US physicians.

Are doctors underpaid in America?

Physicians received an average 3% salary increase in 2023, according to Medscape's 2024 Physician Compensation Report — but 61% of doctors surveyed said they felt U.S. physicians were underpaid. Learn more about physician salary in the highlights from the 2024 report below.

Which country pays doctors the best?

The following are the best countries that offer lucrative job opportunities for doctors and allow them to grow professionally.
  • Switzerland. Switzerland tops the chart when it comes to the highest-paying countries for doctors and related healthcare professionals. ...
  • Canada. ...
  • Luxembourg. ...
  • USA. ...
  • Ireland. ...
  • Australia. ...
  • Austria. ...
  • Belgium.

Why does Cuba have so many doctors?

In order to ensure a sufficient trained health workforce to provide comprehensive primary care, Cuba developed a robust, free medical education program. In 2013, Cuba trained more than 10,000 physicians and approximately 30,000 total clinicians4.

Are doctors in USA millionaires?

About 51% of doctors reach a net worth of $1 million or more, but this changes a lot based on their age and area of work. Younger doctors, especially those just starting out, usually have lower net worths. This is because they often have student loans and haven't had enough time to grow their savings.

Which state in USA pays highest to doctors?

Which state pays primary care physicians the most? California has the highest average annual salary for primary care physicians, with an average of $358,000, almost $100,000 above the national average. Which factors influence the salary of primary care physicians?

Why does the US pay so much for healthcare?

There are many factors that contribute to the high cost of healthcare in the country including wasteful systems, rising drug costs, medical professional salaries, profit-driven healthcare centers, types of medical practices, and health-related pricing.

Why is US healthcare so expensive compared to other countries?

There are many possible factors for why healthcare prices in the United States are higher than other countries, ranging from the consolidation of hospitals — leading to a lack of competition — to the inefficiencies and administrative waste that derive from the complexity of the U.S. healthcare system.

What are the cons of universal healthcare?

Con: limited budgets

Universal health care that's funded or heavily subsidised by the state may not offer treatments or medicines deemed not effective or proven enough to justify the expense. This practice, known as "care rationing", can even be expanded to frontline treatment.