The core discretionary benefits for physicians remained largely unchanged from 2014 to 2018, according to the latest provider benefits survey from medical trade group AMGA.
The survey — conducted by AMGA's subsidiary, AMGA Consulting — also showed that the number of part-time primary care providers who are eligible for employer benefits is increasing.
To compare provider benefits of health systems, researchers examined data from 83 healthcare organizations across 34 states. The research included 2018 benefits package information from AMGA's 2018 Medical Group Compensation and Productivity survey. AMGA also used a supplemental survey to gain additional information from respondents.
Overall, benefits survey found that core physician benefits, such as retirement plans, medical insurance, income protection, time off, and professional development, remained largely unchanged from 2014 to 2018, said AMGA.
For instance, in 2018, the most common combination of retirement plans reported by respondents was a 403(b) with a 457(b) plan, which was consistent with the AMGA's 2014 benefits survey.
The 2014 and 2018 surveys also found that most employers offered some type of life insurance coverage, and that most group physicians become eligible for life insurance the first of the month after their hire date.
Additionally, 89 percent of the 2018 survey respondents indicated they offer continuing medical education benefits for providers. Also, more than half of the 64 organizations that provided information on provider time-off benefits last year reported more than the typical six holidays guaranteed off, including New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
"The healthcare industry is currently experiencing a physician shortage, especially in primary care," said Elizabeth Siemsen, AMGA Consulting director, in a news release. "The expanded offerings and lowered FTE [full-time-equivalent] thresholds we saw in this survey indicate short-staffed organizations are looking to fill employment gaps with part-time physicians and are using employee benefits as a way to attract talent."