Physician pay is rising but not keeping pace with inflation, MGMA says
Physician-owned practices reported higher levels of compensation than hospital-owned practices.
Photo: John Fedele/Getty Images
Physician compensation is on the rise but not keeping pace with inflation, according to the Medical Group Management Association's 34th annual DataDive Provider Compensation report.
Although growth in median total compensation for primary care providers doubled from 2021 to 2022, from 2.13% to 4.41% respectively, it couldn't overtake inflation rates of 7% and 6.5%.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The report reveals the impact of staffing shortages and inflation challenges on physician compensation, MGMA said.
Compensation growth depended on the physician specialty. Over the past three years, urgent care physicians saw compensation rise .13%, while family medicine practitioners, not including obstetrics, realized a 10.57% increase.
Physician-owned practices reported higher levels of productivity compared to their counterparts at hospital-owned practices. The difference in total collections ranged from $96,580 to $172,221 between PCPs, surgical and non-surgical specialists, and advanced practice providers.
THE LARGER TREND
The report features data on nearly 190,000 providers from over 6,800 organizations.
In November, physician groups denounced a final payment rule that they said resulted in a 4.5% decrease caused by statutory-mandated cuts.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
