ENGLEWOOD, Colo., May 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) released its 31st annual Provider Compensation and Production Report, the most comprehensive view of provider compensation in the United States. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, MGMA received supplemental data with a 14% increase in total participating providers in early 2020, representing data from more than 168,000 physicians and nonphysician providers (NPPs) in over 6,300 organizations, the highest number of participants to date.

Average total primary care physician compensation rose 2.6% from 2018 to 2019, reaching $273,437. Overall, compensation for most physician specialties continued to increase. Urgent care and pulmonary specialists led these salary increases, from $259,661 to $277,393 and $385,024 to $406,245, respectively.

Among the report's key findings, the top five most sizable increases in total compensation for established providers between 2018 and 2019 include the following medical specialties:

Psychiatry (general): 7.69%
Urgent Care: 6.83%
Pulmonary Medicine (general): 5.51%
Internal Medicine (general): 4.00%
Urology: 3.85%
NPP Compensation on the Rise

NPPs also experienced a 2.13% increase in compensation from 2018 to 2019. Notable compensation amounts for nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA) include:

NP (nonsurgical/nonprimary care): $108,861
NP (primary care): $109,925
PA (primary care): $112,924
PA (nonsurgical/nonprimary care): $116,656
NP (surgical): $116,964
PA (surgical): $129,183
Over the past five years, total compensation for NPPs increased at a rate of 5% to 9%.

COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Physician Compensation

According to an April 7 MGMA Stat poll, 97% of medical practice leaders reported a drop in patient volume amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A separate COVID-19 financial impact report by MGMA found that, on average, practices reported a 55% decrease in revenue and 60% decrease in patient volume since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. These significant impacts to medical practices of all sizes and specialties forced many to lay off and/or furlough staff.

"With 1.4 million healthcare workers furloughed in the last month alone, this 2019 compensation data will serve as a baseline for benchmarking 2020 operations in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACMPE, president and chief executive officer, MGMA. "COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on the healthcare industry with productivity halting for many medical practices. Compensation models will look different in the near future based on shifting productivity and demands on physicians and the healthcare industry overall."

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