AMA: Physicians supported 10 million US jobs in 2012

The new American Medical Association Economic Impact Study has been released, and findings show that physicians are a strong part of the economy in terms of jobs, wages and benefits, and tax revenues.

The study focused on MDs and DOs actively involved in patient care activities and includes data related to the direct and indirect economic impact made across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The indirect impact was estimated as business-to-business transactions, purchases of supplies and other economic activity, and included “induced effects,” which were described as the economic activity generated when those employed by indirect sources spent wages within their community. Job figures included physicians, besides other wage earners. An additional $1.62 was reported to be generated in indirect output for every $1 spent directly, and 10.97 indirect full-time jobs were reported to be created for every $1 million spent in direct output. Ever dollar in direct output was said to create an additional 53 cents in wages.

The report showed that every physician supported almost $2.2 million in economic output, 13.84 jobs, nearly $1.1 million in wages and benefits, and more than $90,000 in state and local taxes on average.

Nationally, $1.6 trillion was reported to be generated through direct and indirect economic output by 720,421 physicians, and more than 9.9 million jobs, $775.5 billion in wages and $65.2 billion in tax revenue in 2012.

The greatest economic output was reported to be $162.6 billion generated by physicians in California, followed by New York with $98.9 billion. Unsurprisingly, physicians in California and New York generated the most tax revenue, at $7.8 billion and $5.65 billion, respectively. Patient care physicians in Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas each generated roughly between $2 billion to $2.5 billion in tax revenue at the state and local levels.

California, with 85,943 physicians, and New York, with 58,443 physicians, also showed the most jobs generated, at almost 984,000 and 572,000, respectively. However, jobs in Texas generated by its 48,314 physicians only trailed New York slightly with nearly 523,000 jobs attributed to physicians by direct and indirect impact. Florida had more than 43,000 physicians in 2012, followed by Pennsylvania, with more than 33,000 patient care physicians on record.

The fewest doctors were found in Wyoming. Its 987 doctors created $1.2 billion in output, paid $689.9 million in wages to 7,837 employees and $31.3 million to state and local governments in taxes, according to the report.

At the state level, the median total output was $12.6 billion while the mean total output was $22.5 billion. Also at the state level, a median of 93,392 total jobs and a mean of 148,980 total jobs were created, including those of physicians, paying a median total wages and benefits of $7.4 billion and mean total wages and benefits of $12.7 billion. The result was reported to be a median total of $440.4 million and mean total of $938.3 million collected in state and local taxes.

Compared with other industries, the report showed that on a national level, physicians generated greater economic output in their communities. The report cited $1.5 trillion created in output by physicians compared with $583.1 billion generated by those involved in legal services, $491.2 billion by those working in nursing homes and residential care facilities, and $387.9 billion created by those employed in higher education.

The AMA wrote that the data could be useful in advocacy measures and as a means to justify the value in providing adequate Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement to physicians because the money has further economic benefit.