Can Healthcare Be Interesting?
As important as doctors, medical facilities, and medicine can be to us, mention healthcare to most people and their eyes can glaze over. A little research, however, can dig up some interesting facts about the subject.
Let us take doctors as an example. Did you know there are about 1,020,000 licensed physicians in the U.S.? That’s about a 20% increase over ten years ago. Only about 36% of physicians are female. On the other hand, there are about 4.2 million RNs and LPNs in the United States. Only 12 percent of registered nurses are male.
Doctors still make a good living. In 2020, the average primary care physician made $243,000 while specialists made about $100,000 more.
There are far fewer hospitals and hospital beds in the United States than many imagine. There are 6,093 hospitals. In comparison, there are over twice as many (13,438) McDonald’s locations. The number of hospital beds has dropped significantly in the past fifty years. It is estimated that there are now about 900,000 hospital beds in the country. That is down from 1.5 million in 1975.
If it seems like everyone you know is on prescription drugs, you are not far off. Almost 70 percent of Americans take at least one prescribed medication, and more than half take at least two. Topping the list of prescribed drugs are antibiotics, antidepressants, and opioid painkillers.
Alright, so medical statistics may not exactly be a page-turner, but they sure can put things in perspective. They also can be critical to our quality of life and the health of our families.
Are you also aware that less than half of Americans carry life insurance? This is a bit surprising considering the cost of final expenses, credit cards, debts, and consumer loans we carry. Life insurance, specifically term insurance, can be very affordable, especially if you are young and in good health. See for yourself. Get a no-obligation price quote from one of our independent agents today. We look forward to assisting you.
