While the pandemic has remained the top story in healthcare over the past year, several other trends have been at play related to provider compensation. Perhaps the most notable is the update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) in 2021. Organizations face several potential financial and operational ramifications, including having to:
- Update physician compensation structures.
- Evaluate professional services agreements.
- Review reimbursement via payer contracts and arrangements.
Beyond the changes to the MPFS, a few other trends within provider compensation have emerged over the last year, as outlined in the graphic below.
Two key takeaways from the updated benchmark data:
- There is a higher prevalence of value-based compensation than in years past. As value-based arrangements become more common, organizations are trying to keep pace by including a value component in their provider compensation plans.
- A continued increase in the employer cost of physician benefits is another notable finding. As costs for goods and services across the economy continue to broadly rise, the trend of increased organizational benefit costs is likely to continue.
The above graphic is just a snapshot of some of the emerging trends within provider compensation over the last year. Please join Josh Halverson and Maria Hayduk on December 9 for additional commentary on the impacts of changes to the benchmark data, as well as a deeper dive into best practices for provider compensation planning, including a discussion of the impact of the new MPFS schedule and how to tackle emerging compensation trends during such uncertain times.
Published December 1, 2021