According to findings in the American Medical Group Association's (AMGA) 2010 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey, most specialties saw modest increases in compensation in 2009, but many provider organizations continue to operate at a significant loss.
The 23rd annual AMGA survey found that 76 percent of the specialties experienced increases in compensation in 2009, with the overall average increase around 3.8 percent.
The primary care specialties (excluding hospitalists) saw about a 3.8 percent increase in 2009 (same in 2008), while other medical specialties averaged an increase of 2.4 percent and surgical specialties averaged around 3.8 percent.
The survey reports that during 2009, the specialties experiencing the largest increases in compensation were pulmonary disease (10.37 percent), dermatology (7 percent), and urology (6.36 percent).
"The survey indicates that compensation continues to fluctuate only marginally for most specialties," said Donald Fisher, president and chief executive officer of AMGA. "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 also found that medical groups in most regions were doing better in 2009 than in 2008, but margins were thin.
In 2009, organizations in the eastern and western regions of the U.S. were operating at break even. Organizations in the southern region continue to operate at a loss of $1,034 per physician in 2009. Groups in the northern region reported losses of $9,943 per physician in 2009, compared to a $3,254 loss per physician in 2008."In the face of the current economic climate, these medical groups continue to rise to the challenge of delivering the highest quality, coordinated care to the patients they serve," Fisher said.
Medical groups reported buffering their 2009 losses with other non-clinical revenue sources or funding from their health systems, according to the study.
Fisher said the current transaction-based reimbursement system is largely indifferent to to the efforts of medical groups to elevate the standard of care in the U.S. Currently, AMGA is working to address the inequities of the current payment model as part of overall healthcare reform and to develop a model that incorporates a substantial component reflecting achievement of quality results.
The AMGA 2010 Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey was based on data from 49,700 healthcare providers throughout the United States, including 121 specialties, 31 other healthcare provider positions, and 27 administrative positions.
The survey was conducted by McGladrey, a national accounting firm, and is available to members of AMGA.