Tracy Dalrymple: Doctors, not CEOs, earn salaries

After reading the March 22 letter “The pay part,” I felt compelled to respond. I agree with the letter-writer that insurance premiums are too high.

However, my son and his wife are recent East Carolina University medical school graduates. I saw firsthand how difficult those four years are for these young people.

After graduating, their combined loan debt is $300,000, plus paying a 6 percent interest rate on the debt. They are now doing residencies at the University of Virginia, working 70 to 80 hours in five days. Residencies can take three-plus years to complete depending upon the specialty chosen.

While I don’t dispute that there are doctors making a lot of money, I wanted to point out what they go through to achieve their goals. On the other hand, let’s look at the salaries of the CEO of WakeMed and president of Rex Healthcare; neither one is an MD. Look at the CEO and other executives at Blue Cross and Blue Shield; none of them are MDs.

And last but not least, the “Martin Shkrelis” who are CEOs of drug companies raising drug prices by 5,000 percent. It’s actually groups such as these that are the cause for exorbitant insurance premiums.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Tracy Dalrymple: Doctors, not CEOs, earn salaries."