5 Strategies for Aligning Physician Compensation with Value-Based Performance

by Amanda Brown, MHA

The move toward value-based contracts is happening “in small doses,” a 2018 MGMA survey found. While nearly three out of five hospitals participate in value-based contracts, just 34 percent of healthcare reimbursement is tied to value. This presents healthcare leaders with a dilemma: How can we engage physicians in value-based payment models when so little […]

Determining Physician Compensation for Administrative Services: The Role of Market Data

by Karin Chernoff Kaplan, Director and Rich Chasinoff, Principal

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Although a determination of fair market value (FMV) depends on the relevant facts and circumstances related to a particular arrangement, reasonable compensation is generally defined as the level of compensation that is consistent with the amount that would be paid by like organizations for comparable services under similar circumstances. Physicians who provide administrative services must […]

Tips for Successfully Handling Physician Compensation During Practice Acquisition

by Stuart J. Schaff, Senior Manager

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Compensation is often a make-or-break deal point in a hospital’s acquisition of a physician practice. Prospective physician employees will naturally compare what they will earn post-acquisition to what they currently earn as practice owners, partners, or employees. From the hospital employer’s perspective, discussions around physician compensation provide important opportunities to win physicians over and to […]

Using “Relative Burden” to Determine Reasonable ED Call Coverage Compensation

by Stuart J. Schaff, Senior Manager

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Many hospitals are finding themselves in discussions with physician specialists regarding compensation for emergency department (ED) call coverage. An increasing number of physicians are paid for this coverage, and information on these payments is becoming more widely available to physicians in the form of published surveys and conversations with fellow physicians. While healthcare finance leaders […]

Different Economics, Different Payment: Call Coverage Stipends for Employed vs. Independent Physicians

Physician employment agreements now commonly include compensation for services beyond basic clinical services; they may also provide compensation for medical directorships, teaching, on-call payments, and so on. We have found that physicians transitioning to hospital employment are generally accepting of clinical compensation models that include a base salary coupled with productivity and quality incentives. However, […]

4 Ways to Simplify — and Strengthen — Your Physician Compensation Plan

by Stuart J. Schaff, Senior Manager, and Amanda Brown, Senior Associate

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Can your physicians easily project their compensation for the next year with reasonable accuracy, or do they need to have their accountants build elaborate Excel models to do so? Many hospitals and medical practices have made their physician compensation plans more intricate as healthcare has become more complex. However, compensation plans that are too complicated […]

Beyond Benchmarks: Five Considerations in Structuring Physician Compensation Arrangements

by Denise Palencik, Manager

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Healthcare system executives are well aware that physician employment agreements must be consistent with Stark and Anti-Kickback legislation requiring that they not pay more than fair market value (FMV) for any services provided or received. However, quantitative benchmarking is only part of the story. As regulatory scrutiny continues to increase, it is imperative that certain […]

Physician Compensation in Rural Areas

by Denise Palencik and Stuart J. Schaff

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When rural healthcare organizations ask us to review physician compensation from a fair market value (FMV) perspective, management often makes the case that they need to pay more to attract physicians. They cite a smattering of studies[1] showing that rural physicians have higher average compensation than their urban counterparts, with one January 2005 study showing […]