Here are the 28 latest hospital executive and physician compensation stories from the past two months, starting with the most recent.
1. John Goodnow, CEO of Benefis Health System in Great Falls, Mont., made more than $890,000 in total compensation in 2011, leaving him at the top of the pay scale for all Montana hospital and health system CEOs.
2. Roughly 35 percent of hospitals and health systems offered performance bonuses to their medical directors this year, an 8 percent jump from last year.
3. The CEOs of the top three cancer hospitals in the country recorded average compensation of $1.29 million in 2010.
4. According to the most recent Form 990s, the combined compensation of the top executives at the 25 top-grossing non-profit hospitals totaled more than $59 million a couple years ago.
5. Over the past three years, more than 86 percent of physicians said income in their practices has been flat or declining, and healthcare reform has played a major role.
6. In 2012, the overall average salary of professional healthcare billers, coders, practice managers, auditors and educators was $47,970, according to a recent survey from the AAPC.
7. Over the course of their lifetime, specialist physicians earn roughly $2.8 million more, on average, than primary care physicians.
8. Short-term incentives are still a very popular component of executive pay programs, as roughly 80 percent of hospitals and health systems use them.
9. As freestanding children's hospitals report higher profits and dole out more lavish executive compensation packages, they could be damaging the trust of their core constituents — the communities and donors, according to Martin Makary, MD, associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
10. Pediatric subspecialty physicians saw their compensation increase 5.5 percent last year — the fourth straight year compensation has increased.
11. CEOs at non-profit integrated health systems saw a median 3.2 percent boost in their base salaries this year, down slightly from a 4 percent increase last year.
12. Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas has undergone major changes within its senior executive team over the past year, and a recent separation agreement showed the former CMO received $487,656 in severance.
13. Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System, hailed by President Barack Obama for its low costs and high-quality care, is balancing physicians' incentive payments and base salaries, but in a compensation model that clinicians find reasonable.
14. Gary Wilde, CEO of Community Memorial Health System in Ventura, Calif., said he will take a $65,000 pay cut as the health system plans to eliminate 31 positions.
15. Supplemental executive retirement plans are a common perquisite for hospital executives, particularly CEOs. This year, roughly 53 percent of hospital CEOs said they have some type of SERP in place.
16. Administrators who managed practices with seven to 25 full-time-equivalent physicians reported a 4.8 percent increase in compensation from 2010 to 2011, totaling an average of $120,486.
17. The national average hourly rate of physician assistants in hospitals increased 2.48 percent from 2011 to 2012, and PAs at for-profit hospitals made almost $5 per hour more than PAs at non-profit hospitals.
18. A whitepaper from SullivanCotter and Associates found four observations on the pay of advanced practice clinicians.
19. Lowell Johnson, interim president and CEO of Salinas (Calif.) Valley Memorial Healthcare System, caught public criticism after it was discovered he paid his daughter with district funds to get him to and from the airport every week.
20. Fargo, N.D.-based Sanford Health doubled down on retaining experienced nurses, as the health system started to offer $15,000 signing bonuses to registered nurses with at least two years of experience who also commit to stay for at least three years.
21. Despite not having worked for Northeast Health System, based in Beverly, Mass., for almost four years, former CEO Stephen Laverty is still collecting severance payments, which now total more than $1.56 million.
22. CEOs at the largest non-profit hospitals and health systems in California raked in millions in 2010, as compensation packages ranged from $1.9 million to more than $7.7 million.
23. Seven-figure pay is the new norm in Boston, as the CEOs of the city's largest hospitals and health systems earned between $1 million and $3.1 million in 2010.
24. The American Hospital Association, the primary hospital trade and lobbying group based in Chicago, recently released its Form 990, and president and CEO Rich Umbdenstock reported more than $3.3 million in total compensation last year.
25. The former CEO and CFO of Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Healthcare received a combined $571,683 in severance pay the year they left the hospital system.
26. The University of California released its employee pay data for 2011, and each of the CEOs at UC's five academic medical centers earned more than $775,000.
27. Bonuses are an increasing trend in physician compensation and physician searches, and bonuses based on relative value units are still the most prevalent.
28. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' compensation committee and board of directors unanimously decided the cash incentive opportunities of CEO Wayne Smith and CFO Larry Cash will be reduced this year if CHS does not grow its price per share of common stock at a high enough rate.
1. John Goodnow, CEO of Benefis Health System in Great Falls, Mont., made more than $890,000 in total compensation in 2011, leaving him at the top of the pay scale for all Montana hospital and health system CEOs.
2. Roughly 35 percent of hospitals and health systems offered performance bonuses to their medical directors this year, an 8 percent jump from last year.
3. The CEOs of the top three cancer hospitals in the country recorded average compensation of $1.29 million in 2010.
4. According to the most recent Form 990s, the combined compensation of the top executives at the 25 top-grossing non-profit hospitals totaled more than $59 million a couple years ago.
5. Over the past three years, more than 86 percent of physicians said income in their practices has been flat or declining, and healthcare reform has played a major role.
6. In 2012, the overall average salary of professional healthcare billers, coders, practice managers, auditors and educators was $47,970, according to a recent survey from the AAPC.
7. Over the course of their lifetime, specialist physicians earn roughly $2.8 million more, on average, than primary care physicians.
8. Short-term incentives are still a very popular component of executive pay programs, as roughly 80 percent of hospitals and health systems use them.
9. As freestanding children's hospitals report higher profits and dole out more lavish executive compensation packages, they could be damaging the trust of their core constituents — the communities and donors, according to Martin Makary, MD, associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.
10. Pediatric subspecialty physicians saw their compensation increase 5.5 percent last year — the fourth straight year compensation has increased.
11. CEOs at non-profit integrated health systems saw a median 3.2 percent boost in their base salaries this year, down slightly from a 4 percent increase last year.
12. Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas has undergone major changes within its senior executive team over the past year, and a recent separation agreement showed the former CMO received $487,656 in severance.
13. Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger Health System, hailed by President Barack Obama for its low costs and high-quality care, is balancing physicians' incentive payments and base salaries, but in a compensation model that clinicians find reasonable.
14. Gary Wilde, CEO of Community Memorial Health System in Ventura, Calif., said he will take a $65,000 pay cut as the health system plans to eliminate 31 positions.
15. Supplemental executive retirement plans are a common perquisite for hospital executives, particularly CEOs. This year, roughly 53 percent of hospital CEOs said they have some type of SERP in place.
16. Administrators who managed practices with seven to 25 full-time-equivalent physicians reported a 4.8 percent increase in compensation from 2010 to 2011, totaling an average of $120,486.
17. The national average hourly rate of physician assistants in hospitals increased 2.48 percent from 2011 to 2012, and PAs at for-profit hospitals made almost $5 per hour more than PAs at non-profit hospitals.
18. A whitepaper from SullivanCotter and Associates found four observations on the pay of advanced practice clinicians.
19. Lowell Johnson, interim president and CEO of Salinas (Calif.) Valley Memorial Healthcare System, caught public criticism after it was discovered he paid his daughter with district funds to get him to and from the airport every week.
20. Fargo, N.D.-based Sanford Health doubled down on retaining experienced nurses, as the health system started to offer $15,000 signing bonuses to registered nurses with at least two years of experience who also commit to stay for at least three years.
21. Despite not having worked for Northeast Health System, based in Beverly, Mass., for almost four years, former CEO Stephen Laverty is still collecting severance payments, which now total more than $1.56 million.
22. CEOs at the largest non-profit hospitals and health systems in California raked in millions in 2010, as compensation packages ranged from $1.9 million to more than $7.7 million.
23. Seven-figure pay is the new norm in Boston, as the CEOs of the city's largest hospitals and health systems earned between $1 million and $3.1 million in 2010.
24. The American Hospital Association, the primary hospital trade and lobbying group based in Chicago, recently released its Form 990, and president and CEO Rich Umbdenstock reported more than $3.3 million in total compensation last year.
25. The former CEO and CFO of Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Healthcare received a combined $571,683 in severance pay the year they left the hospital system.
26. The University of California released its employee pay data for 2011, and each of the CEOs at UC's five academic medical centers earned more than $775,000.
27. Bonuses are an increasing trend in physician compensation and physician searches, and bonuses based on relative value units are still the most prevalent.
28. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' compensation committee and board of directors unanimously decided the cash incentive opportunities of CEO Wayne Smith and CFO Larry Cash will be reduced this year if CHS does not grow its price per share of common stock at a high enough rate.
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