An increasingly competitive marketplace for talent at U.S. hospitals and health systems and recovery from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting healthcare executive compensation, according to a survey conducted by consulting firm SullivanCotter.
SullivanCotter's "2022 Healthcare Management and Executive Compensation Survey" is based on data from more than 3,000 organizations representing about 42,300 executives and managers. Here are four trends from the survey, which was conducted from January 2022 to April 2022:
1. Median base salaries for healthcare executives increased by 4.5 percent for 2022 compared to 2021, which SullivanCotter said reflects the compensation effect of a competitive talent market at hospitals and health systems.
2. Median total cash compensation (equal to base salary plus annual incentives) for healthcare executives rose by 9.7 percent from 2021 to 2022. SullivanCotter attributed the increase to incentive payouts for 2021 performance to improved financial and operating performance at organizations compared to the previous year.
3. Bruce Greenblatt, managing director at SullivanCotter, said in a news release: "Although total cash compensation for executives grew year over year, it is important to note that there were no shifts in annual incentive plan prevalence or award opportunity levels. The growth in reported total cash compensation is being driven by higher incentive awards that reflect improved organizational performance after a particularly challenging year. Thus, it shows that the performance-based incentive programs are operating as designed by tempering awards in challenging years and increasing them when performance improves."
4. The 4.5 percent overall median annual healthcare executive salary increase is less than the annual growth seen in many clinical roles, including registered nurses (more than 8 percent), as reported in SullivanCotter 2022 surveys.
To learn more about the survey, click here.