Median compensation for medical specialists stalls

Primary care physicians also continue to feel great pressures from practice cost increases.

By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. Oct. 3, 2005.

For the first time in five years, the rate of increase for primary care physician compensation outpaced that of specialists, according to a survey released by the Medical Group Management Assn.

Based on responses from 36,521 physicians at 2,000 group practices around the country, the MGMA survey found that median compensation in 2004 as compared to 2003 was up 3.1% for primary care physicians and 0.2% percent for specialists.

The median compensation for primary care physicians overall in 2004 was $161,816, up from $156,902 the previous year. Specialists' median compensation was $297,000, up slightly from $296,464 in 2003.

MGMA theorizes that lower reimbursements and higher costs, including labor and liability premiums for high-risk specialties such as neurology and obstetrics-gynecology, are the key reasons why specialist pay stagnated last year, said Dan Stech, MGMA's director of survey operations.

Also, the survey results suggest that revenue growth from ancillary services, which helped specialists counteract those cost pressures, might be waning, Stech said.

MGMA won't know whether its theories are on target until it finalizes its annual cost survey, which is expected to occur in October, Stech said.

A compensation survey released on Aug. 10 by the American Medical Group Assn. had a similar finding as MGMA's survey.

Alexandria, Va.-based AMGA found that a majority of specialties saw compensation increase at or just above the rate of inflation, while primary care specialties saw increases ranging from 6% to 8% after years of declining or minimal increases, said Tom Flatt, a spokesman for AMGA. That organization represents larger physician groups compared to MGMA's membership.