Here are 15 compensation statistics for healthcare executives to know.
1. Total cash compensation levels for hospital executives decreased an average of 0.4 percent in 2014, according to Sullivan, Cotter and Associates' "2014 Manager and Executive Compensation in Hospitals and Health Systems Survey."
2. Compensation levels for health system executives increased by 0.9 percent in 2014 due to lower average payouts under annual incentive plans.
3. The average base salary for an independent health system CEO in 2014 was $752,800, and the average base salary for an independent hospital CEO was $425,200, according to Integrated Healthcare Strategies' "2014 National Healthcare Leadership Compensation Survey" report.*
4. The average base salary for an independent health system CFO in 2014 was $416,200, and the average base salary of an independent hospital CFO was $247,900, according to Integrated Healthcare Strategies' "2014 National Healthcare Leadership Compensation Survey" report.*
5. The average annual salary for a CIO in healthcare and medical services in 2015 is $173,941.
6. The average annual salary for a CXO in 2015 is$221,000
7. Base salaries increased between 2013 and 2014 across the board for many C-suite positions, according to the Sullivan, Cotter and Associates survey. However, CEOs at independent hospitals saw the largest average base salary increase (6.4 percent) between 2013 and 2014.
8. The average base salary increases between 2013 and 2014 for executives of health systems are as follows:
CEO — 2.6 percent
COO — 2.9 percent
CFO — 3.5 percent
CMO — 2.5 percent
9. At independent hospitals, base salaries increased by the following percentages:
CEO — 6.4 percent
COO — 4.5 percent
CFO — 2.1 percent
CMO — 4.9 percent
10. At system-owned hospitals, base salaries increased by the following percentages:
CEO — 1.7 percent
COO — 1.7 percent
CFO — 2.5 percent
CMO — 1.7 percent
11. Health systems offered the following median target award opportunities to their executives in 2014, according to the Sullivan Cotter Associates survey:
CEO — 35 percent (up from 31 percent in 2004)
COO — 30 percent (up from 25 percent)
CFO — 28 percent (up from 24 percent)
SVP — 25 percent (up from 23 percent)
VP — 20 percent (up from 19 percent)
12. Hospitals offered their executives the following median target award opportunities in 2014:
CEO — 30 percent (up from 28 percent)
COO — 25 percent (up from 22 percent)
CFO — 25 percent (up from 22 percent)
SVP — 20 percent (down from 24 percent)
VP — 17 percent (down from 19 percent)
13. Healthcare executive compensation is adapting to new leadership competencies. According to a B.E. Smith whitepaper, as hospitals and health systems attempt to adapt to the new leadership realities — such as increased CEO turnover and merger and acquisition activity — executive compensation in the healthcare industry rose 2 percent to 3 percent over the past year, with slightly higher pay raises for CEOs.
14. Although the industry is moving to align executive compensation with performance-based care models, 43 percent of executives surveyed said their organization hasn't taken steps to match incentives to values such as cost containment and clinical outcomes. However, further alignment will occur in 2015, according to the report.
15. Forty percent of survey respondents said their executive compensation packages are either slightly or seriously misaligned with their organization's strategies, according to the 2014 Executive Compensation Survey report by HealthLeaders Media Intelligence. As for incentive payments,operating margins serve as a basis for 60 percent of respondents' current team incentive payments,followed by clinical performance targets (59 percent) and staff engagement or satisfaction targets (51 percent).
*"Independent" refers to a system or hospital that does not report to a parent.