Contract & Benefits

Physician Recruitment Process and Compensation Overview

A Compensation Model Designed to Reward You

Your financial package in Brenham is structured to provide security during your transition and significant upside as your practice grows. The compensation model begins with a two-year guaranteed salary, eliminates the risk of a slow start, and transitions into a production-based structure with a permanent base floor that protects your income regardless of volume fluctuations.

Combined with a quality incentive program, APP supervision stipends, optional teaching income, and a benefits package that covers malpractice tail for life, this opportunity delivers total compensation that consistently reaches $400,000 or more for productive family medicine physicians. The client has stated directly: $400,000-plus is "very safe and very doable" in this practice.

Two-Year Guaranteed Salary

Your first two years provide income certainty while you establish your practice and build your patient relationships. The guaranteed base salary ranges from approximately $260,000 for new graduates and approximately $280,000 or higher for experienced physicians, with flexibility based on qualifications and negotiation.

During these two years, your guarantee is not a ceiling. If your production-based earnings exceed your guaranteed salary in Year 1 or Year 2, you still receive the production bonus on top of the guarantee. This is a significant differentiator specific to the Brenham and College Station market.

  • New Graduate Guarantee: Approximately $255,000 to $260,000 per year
  • Experienced Physician Guarantee: Approximately $280,000 or higher (flexibility available)
  • Duration: Two years
  • Production Upside Preserved: If you exceed your guarantee through production during Years 1 and 2, you receive the additional earnings as a bonus

Production-Based Compensation (Post-Guarantee)

After your two-year guarantee, your compensation transitions to a production model with a permanent base floor of $230,000 per year. You will never earn less than this amount regardless of volume. Above this floor, you earn $53 per wRVU once you exceed the annual threshold of 5,200 wRVUs.

Production bonuses are paid quarterly, with the 5,200 threshold prorated by quarter (1,300 wRVUs per quarter). A 12-month rolling lookback methodology is also referenced for tracking purposes.

To illustrate the earning potential: the departing physician, Kelly McDonald, MD, generated between 7,000 and 8,000 wRVUs annually. At those production levels, total compensation from the production model alone would range from approximately $325,000 to $378,000.

  • Permanent Base Floor: $230,000 per year (guaranteed for life of employment)
  • wRVU Threshold: 5,200 per year (1,300 per quarter)
  • Rate Above Threshold: $53 per wRVU
  • Payment Cadence: Quarterly
  • Realistic Production Range: 7,000 to 8,000 wRVUs annually based on departing physician's volume
  • Realistic Total Compensation (Production Only): Approximately $325,000 to $378,000 at 7,000 to 8,000 wRVUs
  • Documented High-End Potential: $600,000+ at sustained volumes of 30 to 35 patients per day

Quality Incentive Program

Beginning in Year 2, you become eligible for a quality incentive worth 10% of your prior-year earnings, paid quarterly. If your Year 1 earnings total $300,000, your quality incentive in Year 2 would be $30,000, paid in quarterly installments of approximately $7,500.

The metrics are described as straightforward and achievable, focused on patient satisfaction minimums, timely chart closure, and professionalism and citizenship measures.

  • Eligibility: Begins Year 2
  • Amount: 10% of prior-year total earnings
  • Payment: Quarterly installments
  • Example: $300,000 prior-year earnings = $30,000 quality incentive ($7,500 per quarter)
  • Metrics: Patient satisfaction, chart closure/open chart expectations, professionalism and citizenship

Additional Income Streams

Several supplemental income opportunities add meaningful dollars to your total compensation without requiring additional clinic hours or increased patient volume.

  • APP Supervision Stipend: $12,000 per year ($1,000 per month) for each APP you supervise; supervising two APPs generates $24,000 per year
  • Teaching/Lecturing (Texas A&M): $100 per hour for lecture time; student support stipend available for half-day and full-day precepting
  • Optional Inpatient/ER Shifts: Additional pay for voluntary shifts at a critical access hospital in Navasota (~25 to 30 minutes away); rate TBD
  • Residency Stipend: Up to $24,000 paid monthly from signing through start date (available for residents who commit early)

Realistic Total Compensation Scenarios

  • Conservative Scenario: (7,000 wRVUs, one APP supervised): $325,000 production + $32,500 quality incentive + $12,000 APP supervision = approximately $369,500
  • Moderate Scenario: (7,500 wRVUs, one APP supervised, some teaching): $352,000 production + $35,200 quality incentive + $12,000 APP supervision + $5,000 teaching = approximately $404,200
  • Strong Scenario: (8,000 wRVUs, two APPs supervised, regular teaching): $378,000 production + $37,800 quality incentive + $24,000 APP supervision + $10,000 teaching = approximately $449,800

Sign-On and Relocation

Your transition to Brenham is supported by a sign-on bonus and relocation assistance that reduce the financial burden of moving.

  • Sign-On Bonus ("Transition Bonus"): $20,000, paid within approximately 30 days of your start date; flexibility exists to increase this amount during negotiation
  • Relocation Assistance: $5,000 for in-state moves; $10,000 for out-of-state moves; administered through New Compass with options for receipts-based reimbursement or a fully managed move including packing, movers, and car shipping

Benefits Package

Your benefits reflect the scale and resources of CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the country.

  • Malpractice Insurance: Occurrence-based coverage with tail included for life, even after departure from the organization
  • CME Allowance: $3,000 per year; applicable to CME, medical license fees, DEA registration, and travel expenses
  • Paid Time Off: 30 days per year plus 6 paid holidays; use-it-or-lose-it flex bucket covering vacation, sick time, and CME
  • Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance: Comprehensive coverage through CommonSpirit Health
  • Retirement Plan: Available through CommonSpirit Health

Your total compensation in Brenham combines a secure guarantee, a transparent production model with no earnings ceiling, a quality incentive that rewards consistent practice habits, and multiple supplemental income streams. When paired with Brenham's significantly lower cost of living compared to Houston, Austin, or Dallas, your purchasing power will exceed what physicians earning considerably more in metropolitan markets take home after housing, taxes, and daily expenses.

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