Compensation for most physician specialties continued to increase in 2019, according to the Medical Group Management Associations' annual Provider Compensation and Production Report.
Five things to know:
1. Between 2018 and 2019, the top three most sizable increases in total compensation for established physicians were psychiatry (7.69 percent), urgent care (6.83 percent) and pulmonary medicine (5.51 percent).
2. Average primary care physician compensation climbed 2.6 percent year over year to $273,437 in 2019.
3. In 2019, the most sizable increase in total compensation for new hires was cardiology (noninvasive). Compensation was up 15.38 percent from 2018.
4. The Eastern region of the U.S. reported the lowest compensation rates for physicians for the second year in a row, and the Southern and Western regions reported the largest compensation rates in 2019.
5. Primary care physicians earn the most in West Virginia. They earn nearly $200,000 more in total compensation than primary care physicians in Vermont, the lowest paying state.