Salaries increase for MSPs in 2017

After two years of relative constancy, MSPs are seeing upward movement on the salary front, with greater percentages of this year’s survey takers earning in each of the highest pay brackets:

• $60,001–$70,000 (14.6% of 2017 respondents earn salaries within this range, compared to 11.1% of last year’s group)
• $70,001–$100,000 (21.3% vs. 19.6%)
• More than $100,000 (14.8% vs. 11.1%)

In recognition of the growing contingent of MSP leaders netting six figures, the 2017 MSP Salary Survey Report, conducted by Credentialing Resource Center, featured a brand-new salary range specification to further differentiate professional experiences among top earners: 6.6% of this year’s respondents reported bringing in more than $120,000 annually.

“I guess you’re going to have to increase the salary range again,” quips Carol Cairns, CPMSM, CPCS, advisory consultant with The Greeley Company and president of PRO-CON, an Illinois-based medical staff services consulting group. “That’s really significant that so many people are making that kind of salary.”

The uptick in top-tier earners is joined by a decline in salaries on the lowest end of the spectrum, with 6.1% of this year’s respondents making $35,000 or less, compared to 9.5% last year, 9% in 2015, and 10.1% in 2014. Some of the remaining volume in the bottom brackets may be tied to working fewer hours: 33.3% of part-time respondents earn $35,000 or less annually, compared to 5.5% of full-time workers.

Despite these promising trends, however, low-end salaries aren’t declining fast enough, according to Cairns—particularly when one considers the advanced titles, degrees, and duties held by MSPs making $35,000 or less annually. The majority of these professionals (61.1%) have a college degree; 7.4% hold a master’s degree. Nearly half (44.6%) are credentialing specialists/coordinators, while one-quarter (25%) are medical staff services coordinators. “They’re not an entry-level person,” says Cairns. Indeed, half have been in the field for five or more years. Plus, 8.9% of respondents in this group indicated, through either response selections or write-in comments, that they hold a manager- or director-level position.

While most professionals earning $35,000 or less work in departments with one or two full-time equivalent (FTE) MSPs (28.6% and 26.8%, respectively), nearly one-third (32.2%) are on teams with three or more FTEs. The vast majority (87.5%) work full time themselves.

The big differentiators are certification and payment method. Only 14.8% of the lowest-paid respondents hold one or more credentials from the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS), compared to 57.5% of their higher-paid peers. The vast majority (94.6%) are paid hourly, compared to 33.5% of other respondents.

Luckily, the circumstances seem to be improving for some professionals with bottom-bracket salaries, albeit not quite at the same clip as their higher-paid counterparts: 51.8% have received a raise within the past year, compared to 76.1% of their higher-paid peers. For 51.6% of low-paid professionals who saw a salary boost, the increase was 2%–2.9%, a fact shared by 36% of higher earners who received a raise.

Source: 2017 MSP Salary Survey Report