About 7.1% of full-time physicians report receiving a leadership stipend, roughly 1 in 14, according to a Sept. 30 analysis from Marit Health.
The median stipend is $25,000 a year, or about 5% of total compensation for physicians who receive one. The analysis, written by Rob Anderson, MD, uses full-time physician salaries reported to Marit as of August 2026, with at least 100 salaries per specialty. It counts stipends paid on top of clinical pay for roles such as medical directorships, section chief positions, service line leads, program directorships and standing committee chairs. It leaves out arrangements that carve leadership time out of a physician’s clinical FTE.
Specialties that work mainly in offices and surgery centers were the least likely to report a stipend. Dr. Anderson said those settings usually have no hospital service line to run and no committee to chair.
Here are eight more things to know:
1. Specialties most likely to report a stipend:
- Plastic surgery: 11.3%
- Neurosurgery: 10.5%
- General surgery: 10.4%
- Infectious disease: 10.2%
- Hematology oncology: 9.5%
- Cardiology: 9.2%
2. Specialties least likely to report a stipend:
- Allergy and immunology: 0.9%
- Ophthalmology: 3.1%
- Dermatology: 3.6%
- Rheumatology: 4.2%
- Podiatry: 4.4%
3. Primary care fell in the middle. Family medicine was at 7.3%, internal medicine at 6.5% and pediatrics at 5.8%.
4. Highest average stipends:
- Emergency medicine: $70,500 (13.5% of total pay)
- Hematology oncology: $56,500
- Physical medicine and rehabilitation: $55,700 (13.5%)
- Orthopedic surgery: $48,600 (5.3%)
- General surgery: $41,300 (6.3%)
5. Lowest average stipends:
- Family medicine: $24,200
- Gastroenterology: $24,800
- Otolaryngology: $25,500
- Psychiatry: $25,700
6. Dr. Anderson tied the pay gap to whether an outside body requires the role. Under Medicare’s conditions of participation, a hospital’s emergency services must be directed by a qualified member of the medical staff. Inpatient rehab facilities must have a director of rehabilitation. Trauma centers need a dedicated trauma medical director to keep their verification. “When a regulator or a verifying body requires the position, the position gets funded,” Dr. Anderson wrote.
7. Stipends grow with experience:
- 0 to 2 years in practice: 1.6% receive one; $28,100 average
- 3 to 5 years: 5.3%; $30,900
- 6 to 10 years: 9.4%; $33,100
- 11 to 15 years: 11.1%; $42,900
- 16 to 20 years: 11.8%; $47,200
- More than 20 years: 11.8%; $46,600
8. Only about a quarter of medical groups report a formal physician leadership development program, according to a 2024 MGMA poll cited in the analysis. Dr. Anderson recommended that groups train physicians before they take a leadership role, review stipend amounts against the hours the role requires, and define in writing what decisions the leader can make.
At the Becker’s 32nd Annual Meeting: The Business and Operations of ASCs, taking place October 29-31 in Chicago, ASC leaders, surgeons and healthcare executives will explore strategies to drive growth, enhance operational performance, navigate reimbursement challenges and prepare for the future of ambulatory surgery. Apply for complimentary registration now.
