A U.S. surgeon recently pushed back on the widespread belief that doctors' salaries are a major reason healthcare is so expensive. In a viral Reddit post, he pointed out that physician pay accounts for only about 8.6% of total healthcare costs in the U.S.—a figure that’s actually lower than countries like Germany, France, and Canada. He used Canada as a case study, calculating that physician salaries there make up roughly 10% of healthcare spending, which aligns closely with the U.S. The takeaway? Doctors aren’t the financial burden many assume—they’re just more visible than the real cost drivers. Critics often claim U.S. doctors are overpaid compared to their international peers, but the surgeon broke down income ratios across several professions. Physician pay relative to engineers, teachers, and lawyers is nearly identical in the U.S., Canada, and France. The data doesn’t support the idea that U.S. doctors are wildly overcompensated. Commenters pointed instead to bloated administrative systems, pharmaceutical prices, and medical device companies as the true cost culprits. Many agreed that doctors have become scapegoats in a system overrun with inefficiencies. The post ended with a sentiment many shared: doctors do difficult, essential work, and blaming them for rising healthcare costs misses the point entirely. The problem isn’t salaries—it’s everything built around them.