Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems CEO Tim Hingtgen was paid 96 times more than the health system's median employee in 2023, according to a proxy statement filed March 28 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The 2023 annual compensation of Mr. Hingtgen was $8,348,223, and the estimated value of his health and welfare benefits was $22,670, according to the report. The median employee compensation, including the estimated value of health and welfare benefits, was $87,176, making the ratio of these amounts 96:1.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, CHS had about 61,000 employees, according to the report. This figure included full-time, part-time and temporary employees. To identify the median compensated employee, the company used base salary as its consistently applied compensation measure. CHS said because all of its employees are located in the U.S., as is the CEO, it did not make any cost-of-living adjustments.
The SEC requires public companies to disclose how CEO pay stacks up with the median employee's overall compensation each year.
In 2022, CHS' CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 97:1, according to that year's SEC filing.
After Mr. Hingtgen, the highest earners at CHS in 2023 were CFO Kevin Hammons and Chief Medical Officer Lynn Simon, MD, earning $3,750,006 and $2,144,471, respectively.