Gastroenterologists are facing increasing financial pressure as reimbursement cuts, inflation and rising practice costs erode earnings and threaten long-term sustainability.
While GI compensation has grown about 33.8% since 2015, inflation-adjusted income has declined. A $370,000 salary in 2015 would need to exceed $502,000 in 2025 to maintain equivalent buying power, but average pay currently falls short at $495,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator.
At the same time, procedure reimbursement rates have dropped sharply, with colonoscopy payments falling nearly 50% since 1992, even as colorectal cancer rates rise among younger adults. In 2025, Medicare pays about $220 per colonoscopy, despite added administrative demands.
“It’s important for physicians to be reimbursed properly to prevent super-experienced gastroenterologists from retiring early,” Benjamin Levy, MD, gastroenterologist at University of Chicago Medicine, told Becker’s.
Physicians warn that the combination of static pay and rising overhead may accelerate early retirements and consolidation into hospital systems or private equity models.
