A 2026 analysis from Marit Health found that physician pay increases failed to keep pace with inflation in 17 of 30 medical specialties. With consumer prices rising 3.4% over the 12 months ending in August, several specialties experienced declines in purchasing power, even when salaries increased.
- Largest declines: Hepatology experienced the steepest inflation-adjusted pay decrease at 12.7%, followed by hematology at 6.2% and wound care at 5.4%.
- Other specialties losing ground: Allergy and immunology, otolaryngology, cardiology, plastic surgery, emergency medicine, pathology, radiology, neurology, orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, pediatrics, dermatology, anesthesiology, and pulmonology also saw compensation fall behind inflation.
- Specialties with modest gains: Neurosurgery, internal medicine, OB-GYN, gastroenterology, endocrinology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, urology, urgent care, nephrology, rheumatology, nuclear medicine and radiation oncology, infectious disease, and psychiatry had inflation-adjusted compensation increases.
- Largest gain: Psychiatry recorded the strongest increase, with pay rising 8.7% and increasing 5.1% after inflation.
The analysis highlights ongoing differences in physician compensation across specialties and the financial pressures providers face as salary growth struggles to keep pace with rising costs.
Resource: Which physicians are losing the most ground to inflation?