Hospital Executive Pay Continues to Rise — But Why?

Hospital boards may be wondering why hospital executive compensation continues to rise despite the fact salaries in the rest of the economy are stagnating. According to David Bjork, senior vice president and senior adviser at Integrated Healthcare Strategies, executive pay in the healthcare industry continues to climb because there are simply too many vacant positions to be filled and not many unemployed healthcare executives.

"With nearly 6,000 hospitals and hundreds of health systems competing for executive talent, there are always plenty of open positions and a lot of recruiting activity," Mr. Bjork wrote in a recent article. "Few hospitals have sufficient bench strength to fill many of their leadership positions through internal promotions, so they need to recruit talent from other organizations, where the candidates are already well-paid and aren't likely to move without a significant raise."

Additionally, as hospitals and health systems continue to transition their organizations to the new value-based payment world, boards and trustees are looking for people who can improve quality and cost efficiencies quickly — all while trying to keep up with the current, rapid pace of healthcare reform.

"[Boards and trustees] are looking for the best people they can find, not someone willing to start low in the salary range for the job," Mr. Bjork wrote.

More Articles on Hospital Executive Compensation:

Tri-City Medical Center CEO Awarded 4% Raise, 20% Bonus

Vanguard Health Systems Shareholders Approve Executive Compensation

El Camino Hospital to Pursue Legal Means to Block Voter-Backed Salary Cap

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