MGMA Report Reveals Medical Groups’ Efforts to Overcome Labor Shortages and Inflation Pains

New research from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) reveals that medical group leaders continue to make bold changes to address persistent staffing hurdles and rising labor expenses to meet growing patient demand for care. The 2023 MGMA Management and Staff Compensation data set, based on 2022 data, includes insights from more than 157,000 management and staff positions from nearly 3,000 organizations. 

Healthcare Compensation Continues Year-Over-Year Growth
While inflationary growth is slowing in 2023, salary costs continue on an upward trajectory. Among the key takeaways from the 2023 benchmarking data:

• All nursing positions saw an average 8.5% jump in median total compensation from 2021 to 2022, fueling a 19.37% five-year increase since 2018.
• The median hourly compensation rate grew $2.14 for medical assistants (MAs) from 2021 to 2022, while registered nurses and triage nurses saw hourly rates climb $5.80 and $5.70, respectively, for the same period.
• Hourly rates for clinical and nursing staff continued to increase annually, keeping pace with the annual total compensation increases.
• Employees in executive management roles saw the biggest one-year change at an 8.99% increase from 2021 to 2022.

Strategies for Navigating a Complex Labor Landscape
MGMA’s latest summary data report, Flexible Strategies for Medical Groups in a Strong Labor Market, expands upon the data and offers recent polling and insights from health system leaders on taking a nuanced staffing outlook.

“Medical group practices face the complex balancing act of attracting and keeping top-tier talent while simultaneously managing increased financial pressures and patient demand,” said Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, MMM, FAAP, FACMPE, president and chief executive officer at MGMA. “Compensation increases are part of recruitment and retention, but healthcare practices and systems must comprehensively redesign their talent strategy to stay competitive.”

Many leaders are leveraging higher compensation and sign-on bonuses to attract new candidates, along with new approaches such as collaborating with school programs, offering in-house training opportunities, and increasing part-time positions.  

The Enduring Ripple Effects of the Great Resignation
The COVID-19 pandemic drove a substantial number of nurses out of the healthcare industry, and filling those roles has been a formidable challenge for healthcare leaders. While higher compensation can help address nursing shortages, leaders are furthering their efforts by easing the burden on nursing staff with patient self-service tools, reducing turnover by expanding employee benefits, and redesigning care teams to optimize each team member’s skill set.

A decline in COVID-19 caseloads also reduced travel nurse demand and compensation, which helped stabilize the market. However, intense competition for skilled nurses still exists between hospitals, specialists, and private practices as nursing schools struggle to build the capacity to train the next generation of clinical staff. 

With vital insights to empower leaders to evolve their recruitment and retention efforts, the report highlights labor considerations and strategies to address ongoing challenges in an ever-shifting healthcare environment.

To download the report, visit here.