The Wall Street Journal writes that the relatively low pay of medical examiners, a mere $185,000 compared to $335,000 for holding a similar position with a private hospital, contributes to the shortage of medical examiners across the country. For four months this year, Montana did not have a single medical examiner in the state and while the state had the budget to hire a new medical examiner, the state could not find anyone to fill the job given the national shortage of forensic pathologists. To increase the appeal of coming to work for the state, the state increased the salary of the state medical examiner to $236,000. Montana hopes to have its largest staff of medical examiners ever by also hiring two deputy officials.