Physician Assistant Salaries, Debt Detailed

A high employment rate, an acceptable student debt-to-salary ratio, and the evolution toward value-based and retail-based care delivery models suggest that the PA profession is on the rise.

The median salary for physician assistants across the United States is about $95,000 a year, and they're shouldering a median $112,500 in educational debt, according to a new state-by-state survey from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. 

Dawn Morton-Rias, PA-C, president and CEO of NCCPA, calls that debt-to-salary ratio acceptable.

"We remain concerned. You worry about the cost, and the cost is higher than it was 20 years ago, as everything has increased," Morton-Rias says.

"Fortunately, the employability and salary range upon graduation still makes that ratio manageable. There is a good return on investment, in terms of employability, salary, transferring across the disciplines and across the nation to work in a lot of areas. It is still a very good investment of time and money."

Morton-Rias says the nation's 108,500 physician assistants are on average about 38 years old, and they're poised to fill the gaps created with the expected "gray tsunami" retirement of Baby Boomer clinicians.

"We are seeing a huge growth in the profession, now having 199 PA programs throughout the United States and a growing number of institutions looking to develop educational programs," she says. "The high employment rate, and the early transitions into employment upon graduation of new graduates suggest that this is a profession that is on the rise and is continuing to be well respected. Back in the day when I became a PA my dad asked if I was able to get a job with this. I only wish he could see the profession now to see how it has taken off."

Morton-Rias says PAs are well-placed to take advantage of the sea change of transitions in healthcare delivery that include the evolution toward value-based and retail-based care delivery models.

"One of the most important assets in an industry such as healthcare that is changing rapidly is to be nimble, to be able to have a core solid knowledge and skill base upon which to draw, and the ability to meet needs," she says.

"That comes from a broad-based high-level and intense educational background, a rigorous clinical training and certification process and re-certifications processes that keep you on your toes and require that you maintain a deep and active fount of knowledge. It is a rigorous process, [requiring] lifelong learning."

The data collected in the most-recent NCCPA survey show that PAs are providing vital services for underserved populations. Nationally, more than half of patients seen by PAs are covered by Medicare or Medicaid. More than 22% of PAs communicate with their patients in a language other than English. In California, more than half of PAs are bilingual. In New Mexico the number is as are 39%, and in Texas 37%.

"It's important to see how PAs on the macro level are impacting the healthcare landscape with the numbers of patients they are seeing who are recipients of public health insurance, Medicaid and Medicare," Morton-Rias says. "It shows how PAs are communicating and relating to patients of diverse backgrounds by their ability to communicate in languages other than English."

The survey data also shows that 67% of PAs are women, and 87% are white.

"The profession is not as diverse as we'd like it to be," Morton-Rias says. "Some of the demographics don't reflect the patient populations that our PAs are caring for. We would like to work with other organizations in the PA community to think and talk about how that demographic might be affected over the course of the next several years."

"We know that the diversity of perspectives that could be brought to bear on patient care helps improve patient compliance and patient satisfaction, says Morton-Rias. "So, there is a lot of work to be done in that regard. We want to help engage in that conversation."

She says scope of practice and other "turf wars" are becoming less of an issue for PAs because physicians and other clinicians understand that resources are scarce.

"There are so many patients who need care and so many pockets in this country where healthcare is inaccessible," Morton-Rias says. "There is such a need for health literacy and equity at the community level. We have so much work ahead of us to improve the health of the country that we can't waste time worrying about things that are not really going to make a huge difference. There are plenty of patients to be seen across the spectrum. Regrettably, we are not able to reach all of them."