My brother is a doc. I don't know what malpractice premiums were in the 50's and 60's but I know his yearly premiums cost more than my first house! That might have some bearing on costs as well.

I also know that he carries a pretty heavy case load to offset the fact that the insurance companies only pay a fraction of what he charges for his services.

While it may be true that PA's, nurses, and other assistants do a lot of the grunt work, freeing the PCP to focus on more critical issues...but I noted my bro's hours...leaving at 4AM and coming home at 11PM, then another 2 hours doing records...not sure if this the case for other physicians.

In addition, my bro is a specialist and a department head...but he doesn't have a mansion and two Ferraris in the driveway!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car