MGMA: 56% of First-Year Physicians Get Signing Bonuses

Physicians are becoming savvy at negotiating employment contracts. Signing bonuses, paid relocation packages, and even loan forgiveness packages are not unheard of.

Median first-year guaranteed compensation was nearly $20,000 higher for specialty-care physicians in multispecialty practices than in single-specialty practices, according to the Medical Group Management Association's Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data.

Specialty physicians earned a median first-year guaranteed salary of $258,677 in multispecialty practices and $240,596 in single-specialty practices. However, primary care physicians received a median first-year guaranteed salary of $165,000 in multispecialty practices and $172,400 in single specialty practices – a difference of 4.5%. 

Since 2008, primary and specialty-care physicians have either seen their first-year guaranteed compensation increase or stay the same, the survey from Englewood, CO-based MGMA found.

A physician's first-year compensation also depends upon geography. Median first-year compensation was the same for primary care physicians across the Eastern, Midwest, and Southern geographic sections at $170,000 per year.

Specialty care physicians' median first-year compensation varied more by geographic section. In the Southern and Western sections, first-year compensation was highest at $275,000 and $270,000, respectively. The Midwest and Eastern regions held the lowest median first-year compensation for specialists at $250,000 and $220,000, respectively, the survey found.

In addition to first-year guaranteed compensation, signing bonuses, loan forgiveness, and amount of paid relocation expenses helped shape physician recruitment. Fifty-six percent of physicians received signing bonuses as part of their employment offers. Twelve percent of physicians received loan forgiveness packages as part of their employment offers, most of which were $50,000 or less.

Employers were more likely to offer loan forgiveness packages to primary care physicians than specialty-care physicians. Fifty-six percent of physicians accepted paid relocation packages, the survey found.

The survey includes data on 4,295 providers categorized by specialty, as well as starting salary information on 1,986 physicians directly out of residency or fellowship, information on paid vacation, paid CME, signing bonuses, loan forgiveness, and relocation expenses, MGMA said.