I've been perusing the threads on NP salaries and I continue to get more and more frustrated. NPs bill at 85% of the physician rate on Medicare/Medicaid, correct? And is this the case for most private insurances as well?
I'm becoming a bit disenchanted by NP pay in my state in the Tristate area of the Northeast, where we have extremely high taxes and high cost of living. How did these salaries get established so low in the first place? I know some fairly new grad RNs that make 85k right out of school and many NPs are starting at this level. It's a disgrace that people accept these salaries. They are taking on, essentially, doctor responsibility, but are given nurse pay, who take on very little responsibility compared to providers, legally speaking. Why do NPs settle for such low pay? I realize we don't have an MD after our name, but medicine is a BUSINESS. In my state we have independent practice on top of this. So, why is there such a pay disparity? OK, throw the doc a bone and pay them more just for having the degree and put in the years in residency and having the MD after his/her name. He/she deserves more. HOWEVER they are not worth DOUBLE, which is what I find is the case. I know because we received a salary report for our practice. The new doc who had 1 year of experience as a doc in internal med was making 208k, I was making 108k. If we see essentially the same number of patients, and we bill at 85% for Medicare and even higher for some commercial plans, how does this make sense? I'm SICK of the NPs/PAs getting out of school and thinking "WOW! 80k or even 100k is a LOT of money!" Yeah, compared to your job as a cashier it is. The NP is much more profitable than the doc, which is why most ads say Looking for NP or MD for the same position.
I started as a new grad NP (after 5 years of ED RN experience) at around 110k in internal medicine and Urgent Care with a hospital practice and ended up clearing $125k my first year with some OT, but not a LOT of OT. I was just switched to salary (no more OT) and I decided to interview around to see what other hospitals are offering. One of the more famous and prestigious hospitals is offering $102,000 with my level of experience and that is for 40 hours in urgent care. They even said "we know you make more at the hospital you came from, but this is what we offer." Very frustrating: that's a huge pay cut.
How can I make more money? How do I push for a higher salary? Why can't NPs lobby for higher pay and stop accepting GARBAGE pay?