As many hospitals and health systems in Maine scale back services and lay off employees, million-dollar salaries for top executives have gone under the microscope.
The Maine Sunday Telegram and Portland Press Herald conducted an investigation of Maine hospitals, all of which are nonprofit, finding that 10 hospital executives and physicians earned at least $1 million in total compensation in 2011. Meanwhile, several hospitals such as Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick announced layoffs of several people.
State Sen. Geoffrey Gratwick (D-Bangor), chairman of the state legislature's insurance and financial services committee, told the Press Herald that tax-exempt hospitals should not be paying their executives high six- and seven-figure salaries.
However, Maine Hospital Association President Steven Michaud, who made $868,607 in 2011, said Maine's hospital executives are underpaid for their region, according to compensation surveys. "I'd say my CEOs are doing an incredible job given the environment and deserve every penny they get," he told the Press Herald.
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