Money & Medicine: Pay differential for women docs grows, big employers see health costs jump, Rx coupons are no bargain

Sep 4 2013

News outlets covered various studies about health costs and doctor earnings.

Bloomberg: Pay Gap For Women Doctors Increases To $50,000 A Year
Female physicians in the U.S. continue to earn less than their male counterparts, with the pay gap widening during the past two decades to more than $50,000 annually in 2010, researchers said.  Women doctors had a median annual income of $165,278 from 2006 to 2010, compared with yearly earnings of $221,297 for male physicians, according to the report published today in JAMA Internal Medicine (Cortez, 9/2).

The Washington Post: Large Employers Project An Increase In Health Care Benefit Costs In 2014
Large employers expect their cost of health care benefits to rise 7 percent in 2014, according to annual survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health, a nonprofit whose members include 66 Fortune 100 companies (Halzack, 9/1).

Earlier, related KHN story: Survey: Big Business May Shift Retirees, Part-Timers To Insurance Exchanges(Hancock, 8/28)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Check Up: Prescription-Discount Coupons Have Hidden Costs
Instant savings! Free 30-day trial voucher! Pay no more than $18 a month! These are the kinds of alluring phrases you can find on coupons for brand-name prescription drugs. But an article in the New England Journal of Medicine warns that behind such catchy language, there is a catch: You likely will not save money in the long run (Avril, 9/1).