Study: Physician compensation not keeping up with inflation

Actually, the MGMA represents physician groups. The Sullivan, Cotter, and Associates article states that it surveyed "Health Care Organizations." Would those include hospitals? Although being hospital-owned does not preclude membership in MGMA, the majority of members are from private groups. This could be a reason why the two reports come to seemingly different results. It's not really helpful to suggest that a group might "have an incentive" to skew its results.

MGMA's data on physician compensation and productivity has always been considered the gold standard for the field. In my past life as a group practice administrator, we did an in-depth comparative analysis of data sources for this. MGMA's approach to data gathering and analysis was objective and methodologically rigorous. They don't deserve the gratuitous implication that they are skewing data. As a healthcare consultant who works primarily with hospitals, they're the definitive source on physician compensation as far as I'm concerned.

The vast majority of Emergency Physicians unlike the other specialties are paid on an hourly rate and do note include nontaxed benifits. AT LEAST IN FLORIDA, the hourly rate pay for ER physicians has increased between 80-120% in the last 10-12 years far outstriping inflation. More than any other specialty they have the ability to increase wages by just increasing hours worked. To really get and idea of an ER physicians saleries hours worked must be factored.

Physician salaries have been decreasing for the last 20 years, this is nothing new. The general public is grossly misinformed on physician salary, costs, and work hours. I have a nurse that makes 1/2 my salary, not bad for a 2 year degree. People can't complain about physician shortages if we aren't willing to pay for the value of their education, debt, and time.