Call structure doesn’t always appear in anesthesiology compensation benchmarking reports, but for many anesthesia providers it’s becoming an increasingly important employment element, and the consequences are showing up in retention data and pay disputes.
According to AMGA Consulting’s June 2026 white paper on anesthesiology compensation, AMGA’s national survey data are based on a 1.0 clinical FTE designation that embeds a standard call rotation of one in four. This means the median total clinical compensation of $536,320 in 2025 already includes a standard call expectation. It is not a base salary to which call pay is added.
The market has moved in a different direction. Some contracts now treat call as optional, separately compensated or loosely defined, according to the report. This shift concentrates coverage responsibility on the physicians who do participate and drives demands for additional pay.
“When equal frequency of participation is not enforced, is considered ‘optional’ and separately compensated, or is not clearly outlined in the contract, the burden of coverage resides with a smaller number of physicians,” the AMGA white paper said. “The results are disproportionate call responsibilities and participating providers seeking additional compensation.”
The data confirm how common the issue is. According to the report, Marit Health survey data from September 2024 through March 2026 found 74% of anesthesiologist respondents carried call responsibilities. MGMA’s 2025 data report a median of 24 unpaid on-call hours per week. The anecdotal sharing of compensation arrangements, particularly on physician forums and through locum tenens networks, has led some providers to believe call pay should be above or in addition to an already competitive total clinical compensation.
“Scheduling flexibility is one [thing]. When you talk about long-term sustainable strategy, and how you retain folks when they’re burnt out, it’s giving them their ‘why’ — and you try to build that into your culture, ensuring that there’s a call structure equity and a workforce equity, where everybody feels like there’s a collective pull when it comes to the work being done,” Chris Glover, MD, associate chief of anesthesiology at Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital, told Becker’s.
An anesthesiology contract that does not clearly define call expectations, frequency and whether call is included in or separate from base compensation is a contract that will generate disputes. The AMGA white paper’s recommendation is that equitable call should be a defined condition of employment, built into work expectations from the start, with compensation benchmarks set accordingly.