Physician Staffing Companies On-Site Hourly Rates on a Steady 5% Yearly Rise

BFMV’s Cost of Physician Staffing Services, 2024 (“CPSS”) includes data sourced from government contracts with 99 physician staffing companies located across the country. These companies supply government healthcare providers, such as VA hospitals or clinics, with the medical personnel necessary to fill temporary physician vacancies. The companies included in the CPSS also provide these services to non-government clients.

When a physician staffing firm becomes a government contractor, it certifies the maximum hourly rate to be charged to the government for temporary staffing services. Hourly rates are fully loaded to include direct labor costs, fringe benefits, overhead, profit, taxes, and malpractice insurance. The rates are consistent across all geographic locations served by the contractor. These contracts may also identify pricing for overtime, shift differentials, weekday or weekend on-call fees, and holiday rates. In most situations, pricing does not include any travel or lodging expenses incurred by a physician.

It’s important to note that the hourly rates in these contracts reflect a ceiling price consistent with “most favored customer” (MFC) pricing, i.e., the prices included in these contracts should be equal to or better than that offered to the vendor’s MFC. Government contracting officers are encouraged to negotiate discounts to ensure that the price paid for staffing services is reasonable for the situation at hand, as the price included in the contract represents “maximum” or “ceiling” pricing.

The CPSS report provides benchmark data for 88 physician specialties and allied health professions. The data indicate that hourly rates vary significantly by specialty. For instance, in 2024, the average hourly rate for temporary family medicine physicians is $175. The average rate for neurosurgeons is $378 per hour. The highest average rate was $468 per hour for maternal-fetal medicine physicians.

The 2024 average rate for on-site physician services across all specialties is $258 per hour, up from $243 and $237 per hour in the 2023 and 2022 CPSS studies, respectively. Since 2016, BFMV has observed an increase of roughly 5% per year in average all-specialty hourly rates. Interestingly, the contracts are effective for five years with relatively evenly divided rolling start dates. This seems to stabilize year-to-year fluctuations, supporting the integrity of the steady increase. Around 17% of the contracts analyzed for the CPSS will terminate in 2024.

The CPSS Report is available here for immediate download ($150 purchase). For more information, contact us.