June 28
2023
A new AMGA survey reveals an increase in primary care coverage.
In the newly released 36 from AMGADay yearly 2023 Medical Group Compensation and Productivity SurveyMedical groups and organizations reported a 6.1% increase in primary care reimbursement, while internal medicine and surgical specialties reported increases of 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively.
Primary care also experienced a greater increase in work relative value units (wRVU) than any other specialty.
“We are seeing a greater increase in the level of compensation for primary care over the past year than for any other specialty. This is evidence that E/M coding is changing CMS. [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] What goes into effect in 2021 is now being factored into the organization’s compensation plan,” said Elizabeth Siemsen, Director, AMGA Consulting. “The findings show clear benefits to primary care as the deferral is removed from the new wRVU weighting utilization for compensation calculations and the pandemic’s slow transition to volume fluctuations.”
A 2023 survey with data for more than 190 specialties found relatively nominal increases in compensation across all types of physician specialties compared to increases in primary care.
Data from the 2023 report indicate a more stable trend for physicians and other providers than we have seen in previous years. The overall increase in median wRVU increased by 2.9% over the previous year. Primary care wRVU accounted for most of it, with a 4.0% increase, while internal medicine and surgical specialties were capped at 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Additionally, more groups reported wRVU data in the 2023 survey. Finally, 2022 was a year in which the pandemic did not significantly affect the volume.
The reward-per-wRVU ratio has not returned to pre-pandemic trend levels, with an overall increase of 0.3% compared to an average of 2.8% from 2016 to 2019. This is consistent with similar rates of reward and wRVU growth. However, primary care increased average compensation per wRVU by 1.5%, while internal medicine and surgical specialties each showed no increase and decreased by -0.2%. This may be further evidence of the impact of the wRVU changes in 2021, which are more fully implemented in 2022 than in 2021, based on AMGA Consulting’s work in the industry.
The increase in median compensation and wRVU for advanced practice clinicians (APCs) follows the pattern of physicians, with larger increases in compensation and wRVU production for nurses and physician assistants practicing in primary care specialties. In addition to the impact of CMS changes, APC results may show the post-pandemic job market impact on APCs and increased utilization of APCs to address access by medical groups as patient demand rebounds.
The 2023 survey also provides data on the median number of tours of medical organizations. Overall median net pay increased by 5.2%, which is higher than the corresponding increase in compensation. This level of disconnect between collection and physician compensation is more pronounced than before.
“It’s clear that the revenue generated by the data does not directly correlate to physician compensation,” said AMGA Consulting President, MHA Fred Horton. “Rather, the group is using that revenue to address growing non-provider costs. A low collection-to-compensation ratio means a high percentage of revenue will cover all of the increased expenses over the past few years. This includes labor costs, supply costs, etc. Fundamentally, this data reflects the organization’s focus on managing the changing financial needs of its medical group operations.”
survey information
36th edition of AMGA Medical Group Compensation and Productivity Survey Data from 446 medical groups are included, representing more than 193,000 providers in 194 physicians, advanced practitioner clinicians, and other provider specialties. To learn more and purchase a survey, please visit: amga.org/compsurvey.
