http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-02-26-primary-doctors_N.htm

Primary care doctors are cutting their hours of practice, with fewer new MD's entering that area and many citing low pay rates as the reason they work less.

Nationwide study shows a correlation between hours worked and rates of compensation from insurance carriers and government reimbursement programs. MD's in regions with higher pay rates work more hours.

Yes, Virginia, it is all about the Benjamins.

http://www.allied-physicians.com/salary_surveys/physician-salaries.htm

Actually, X, I'm reluctant to pile blame for escalating medical costs at the feet of doctors, particularly GP/Family Practice MD's. I can't imagine the pressure of having enormous student loans hanging over your head when you are deciding what field of medicine to go into, and the urge to go into the most lucrative ones must be very strong. Where I get squeamish is in the situations where the docs own the labs and imaging facilities. While they may scream defensive medicine and malpractice risk all they want, the temptation to run up the bill by ordering lots of diagnostic tests from a lab you own is a pretty large conflict of interest.