BTW, EmmaB, I appreciate the response. And that may well be the way things will work out. Though risks and investments are exponentially higher than they were back when your country made the switch, it's all a matter of scale.

Besides, our doctors are, by evidence of what they do, among our brightest citizens. They'll land on their feet. Many will probably lose their private practices and investments and retirements, but on a percentage basis, there are probably a number of them young enough to start over. They won't all be like my 60-year-old brother. And he won't starve either. He may just have to work longer. I know my brother. He'll work longer anyway.