Results illustrate the need to align provider pay with the organizations’ goals or risk financial sustainability and compliance challenges.
Stroudwater Associates, the nation’s leading source for operational, financial, and clinical & quality strategy for rural and community healthcare, has released the results of The State of Rural Provider Compensation in 2024 in partnership with the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH).
The Rural Provider Compensation Survey measured total compensation paid within a calendar year, consistent with the Medical Group Management Association’s (MGMA) definition of total compensation. The survey received 199 responses from 42 states representing over 2,841 full-time employee providers.
The survey results and report illustrate the enormous variability in provider pay across rural organizations and the pressing need for rural healthcare to align its provider compensation with the organizations’ goals. If hospitals do not address the current issues of provider compensation, hospitals will face financial sustainability and compliance challenges.
“Provider compensation in rural hospitals poses distinct challenges compared to urban and suburban organizations, emphasizing the need for accurate, applicable data. This year’s expanded survey results provide crucial insights into these dynamics,” says Opal H. Greenway, J.D., M.B.A., C.V.A. “The findings make it clear that rural hospitals must address their compensation strategy to maintain financial sustainability and compliance.”
The 2024 report builds on the data from the inaugural report. It now highlights median compensation for primary care providers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and specialists such as cardiology, general surgery, and orthopedics.
“This survey serves as a cornerstone in our mission to secure the future of rural hospitals,” said Alan Morgan, CEO of NRHA. “Understanding the unique compensation needs of rural healthcare providers is essential—not just for their success, but for the long-term sustainability of rural healthcare systems.”
Key results from the rural provider compensation survey include:
- Most rural provider compensation is not tied to incentives.
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- 54.7% of respondents pay providers a straight salary with no performance or quality incentives, a slight decrease since 2023, which reported 56%.
- Salary variability continues to increase.
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- While median compensation for a family medicine physician without OB is under $260,000, the survey uncovered an overall total compensation of $179,500 – $420,874 for these providers.
- Over half of the organizations surveyed did not know which Medicare physician fee schedule they used.
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- Only 36.8% of the organizations surveyed used the most recent Medicare physician fee schedule.
- CRNA compensation is increasing well beyond inflation and at insurmountable rates compared to other specialties.
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- CRNA compensation in the rural space has grown from a pre-pandemic salary of $150,000 – $180,000 based on client data to a median salary of over $251,500.
Stroudwater Associates plans to update and distribute this survey annually at no cost to continue providing rural hospitals with information on physician and advanced practice provider compensation and encourages rural organizations to participate in the 2025 survey to receive the full results.
To download the report, please click here.