AMGA: 70% of specialists see small bump in 2010 salaries
Many providers continue to operate at a significant loss, and although nearly 70 percent of specialties saw increases in compensation in 2010, increases were marginal, according to findings in the American Medical Group Association’s (AMGA) 2011 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey.
The survey found that medical groups were still faced with significant financial challenges, and operating margins are increasingly thin. In 2010, only organizations in the Western region were nearing break-even (-$27 per physician). “All other regions were operating at a loss: the Eastern region averaged a loss of $1,597 per physician; the Southern region averaged a loss of $1,870; and the Northern region continued to experience significant losses (-$10,669 per physician in 2010, compared with -9,943 per physician in 2009),” the report stated.
AMGA of Alexandria, Va., contracted the accounting firm of McGladrey to conduct the survey. The report provides compensation, productivity and financial operations data from approximately 49,700 healthcare providers throughout the U.S., including 124 specialties, 32 other provider positions and 28 administrative positions. The data represents responses from 239 medical groups, representing 51,700 providers (55.6 percent of groups report more than 100 physicians).
The compensation portion of the survey found that 69 percent of the specialties experienced increases in compensation in 2010, with the overall average increase 2.4 percent (in 2009, 76 percent experienced an average increase 3.8 percent). Primary care specialties saw a 2.6 percent increase in 2010, while other medical specialties' increases averaged 2.4 percent and surgical specialties averaged 3.8 percent.
The primary care and surgical specialties saw a 3.8 percent increase in 2009, while other medical specialties saw 2.4 percent, the report added.
The survey found that during 2010 the specialties experiencing the largest increases in compensation were allergy (6.38 percent), emergency medicine (6.37 percent) and hospitalist/internal medicine (6.29 percent).
“Much of the losses we see in 2010 are supplemented by other non-clinical revenue sources and/or funding from health systems with which groups are associated,” commented Donald W. Fisher, PhD, president and CEO of AMGA. “The survey indicates that compensation continues to fluctuate only marginally for most specialties. The modest increases seen this year reflect the negative impact of declining reimbursements, competition for specialists, the cost of new technology and other factors on practice revenues in most parts of the country.”
The survey found that medical groups were still faced with significant financial challenges, and operating margins are increasingly thin. In 2010, only organizations in the Western region were nearing break-even (-$27 per physician). “All other regions were operating at a loss: the Eastern region averaged a loss of $1,597 per physician; the Southern region averaged a loss of $1,870; and the Northern region continued to experience significant losses (-$10,669 per physician in 2010, compared with -9,943 per physician in 2009),” the report stated.
AMGA of Alexandria, Va., contracted the accounting firm of McGladrey to conduct the survey. The report provides compensation, productivity and financial operations data from approximately 49,700 healthcare providers throughout the U.S., including 124 specialties, 32 other provider positions and 28 administrative positions. The data represents responses from 239 medical groups, representing 51,700 providers (55.6 percent of groups report more than 100 physicians).
The compensation portion of the survey found that 69 percent of the specialties experienced increases in compensation in 2010, with the overall average increase 2.4 percent (in 2009, 76 percent experienced an average increase 3.8 percent). Primary care specialties saw a 2.6 percent increase in 2010, while other medical specialties' increases averaged 2.4 percent and surgical specialties averaged 3.8 percent.
The primary care and surgical specialties saw a 3.8 percent increase in 2009, while other medical specialties saw 2.4 percent, the report added.
The survey found that during 2010 the specialties experiencing the largest increases in compensation were allergy (6.38 percent), emergency medicine (6.37 percent) and hospitalist/internal medicine (6.29 percent).
“Much of the losses we see in 2010 are supplemented by other non-clinical revenue sources and/or funding from health systems with which groups are associated,” commented Donald W. Fisher, PhD, president and CEO of AMGA. “The survey indicates that compensation continues to fluctuate only marginally for most specialties. The modest increases seen this year reflect the negative impact of declining reimbursements, competition for specialists, the cost of new technology and other factors on practice revenues in most parts of the country.”