The recorded median base salary for CEOs increased 4 percent this year, up from last year's median of 3.2 percent and back in line with averages from 2011, according to the 2013 healthcare compensation study from Hay Group.
Hay Group collected data from 99 integrated health systems and 40 integrated health subsystems, covering more than 1,100 total hospitals. Salaries for CEOs increased 4 percent on average, while salaries for other senior executives increased about 3 percent this year, according to the report. CEOs of independent hospitals garnered smaller salary raises, with a median of 3 percent.
According to a 2013 Integrated Healthcare Strategies survey, the median base salary of a health system CEO ranges from $539,000 to $750,000, depending on the size, revenue and ownership of the organization.
Ron Seifert, executive compensation practice leader for Hay Group's healthcare practice, said in a news release the results of the survey represent an era of "temperance" for executive pay.
"Even so, it's more critical now than ever that hospitals and health systems properly incentivize and retain their executive talent," Mr. Seifert said. "The environment has never been more complex: Systems are becoming insurers, insurers are partnering with health systems and CEOs are being charged with pushing the organization toward pay-for-performance and population health management. To succeed, healthcare organizations must have the right leadership guiding the ship."
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