Physician and registered nurse pay varies by specialty, gender and ownership, several recent studies and surveys reported by Becker's found.

Based on 2020 earnings, nurse practitioners who worked in acute care hospitals reported the highest annual incomes compared to other healthcare settings, according to a report released Dec. 3 by Medscape. 

As the value-based care reimbursement environment grows, there is an increasing interest in linking additional physician compensation to the achievement of quality outcomes as measured by certain quality metrics.

Differences in workers' skills aren't always the biggest reason for pay inequality, a study reported in Bloomberg Dec. 9 reveals.

Physician-owned practices acquired by hospitals from 2014-18 led to those physicians earning income that was 0.8 percent lower on average than those who remained independent, a December Health Affairs study found.

Memorial Sloan Kettering has paid a total of $1.9 million in severance to its former CMO, who resigned in 2018. 

St. John's Health in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is offering a $1,000 retention bonus to full-time employees, the hospital confirmed to Becker's.

Female physicians are paid less than male colleagues from the start of their careers and, over the course of a 40-year-career, earn an estimated $2 million less, according to a study published Dec. 6 in Health Affairs. 

Plastic surgery is the highest-paying physician specialty, according to Medscape's 2021 Physician Compensation Report. 

On average, compensation for full-time practicing advanced practice registered nurses increased in 2020 compared to the year before, according to a report released Dec. 3 by Medscape.

Amid efforts to recruit and retain workers, hospitals and health systems are investing in employee compensation and benefits.

Centura Health is investing an additional $82 million in compensation and benefit changes for its 21,000 employees, the Centennial, Colo.-based health system announced Nov. 30.

While hospitals and health systems struggle with staff shortages, they're making major investments in employee compensation.

To retain and recruit employees, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Spectrum Health plans to spend $117 million for pay increases and bonuses, MiBiz reported Nov. 21.

Matthew Matthiessen, CEO of John C. Fremont Healthcare District in Mariposa, Calif., took a salary reduction this year after requesting that the board of directors continue a pay cut that he had started to take shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, the hospital announced in a news release.

Cam Patterson, MD, chancellor of the Little Rock-based University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was approved for a 33 percent pay increase by trustees, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported Nov. 18.

The average annual salary for registered nurses, excluding bonus pay such as overtime, climbed about 4 percent since Jan. 1 to $81,376, according to healthcare consultants Premier, which examined salaries of about 60,000 nurses for The Wall Street Journal.

Kelby Krabbenhoft, the former president and CEO of Sanford Health who abruptly departed in late 2020, received a more than $49 million payout, according to federal tax documents obtained by Forum News Service.

The unique business challenges created by the pandemic have made companies more willing to pay up for those with the right skills, as MBA graduates saw their median income soar, The Wall Street Journal reported Nov 15. 

Advocate Aurora Health will invest $93 million to boost its minimum hourly wage, the health system said Nov. 11.