The percentage of healthcare organizations with an internal hourly minimum wage of $15 or higher increased significantly from 2022 to 2023, according to one new survey.
The finding is from consulting firm SullivanCotter, which releases an annual healthcare staff compensation survey. This year's survey is based on data from more than 1,630 participating organizations on more than 600 jobs and approximately 1.4 million employees.
Results of the survey were released Dec. 7. Participating organizations represented various organization types and sizes, including nonprofit and for-profit health systems, independent hospitals, health plans, medical groups, and academic medical centers. The survey also had participation from long-term care facilities, home health providers and healthcare service providers such as dialysis centers, surgery centers, cancer centers and behavioral health providers.
In 2022, 15.6% of healthcare organizations had an internal minimum wage of more than $15 per hour; this year, 29.1% do, according to the survey. Ninety percent of organizations have an internal hourly minimum wage higher than the federal, state and local minimum wage.
Some health systems are increasing the internal minimum wage to recruit and retain workers. Others are raising workers' pay in labor contracts with unions.
Here is how the internal minimum wage rates changed over the last year:
1. Less than $10 per hour
2022: 2.2%
2023: 0.0%
2. $10 per hour
2022: 5%
2023: 1.5%
3. $11 per hour
2021: 3.9%
2022: 4%
4. $12 per hour
2022: 7.8%
2023: 3%
5. $13 per hour
2022: 6.1%
2023: 4%
6. $14 per hour
2022: 5.6%
2023: 4.5%
7. $15 per hour
2022: 53.9%
2023: 53.8%
8. More than $15 per hour
2022: 15.6%
2023: 29.1%