Much of nurses sentiment about CEOs being overpaid is not borne out
by the data on the average CEOs salary as reported below. What IS remarkable
is the willingness of the CEOs of hospitals to utilize the remarkably expensive
consulting firms they hire to help them determine how to do their jobs.
While there has been gross profiteering by both CEOs of the largest Hospital
conglomerates [See Tenet] and enormous salaries paid to the CEOs of managed
care entities, the average salary of the Hospital CEO is far more modest,
although their willingness to assure their own increasing salaries,
while fighting against increases for the primary labor pool of their businesses
[RNs] by irresponsebly suppressing those persons salaries and creating
hostile work environements, contributes to the shortage.
"....The median CEO base salary for 2002 is $237,000, but total cash averages paid to CEOs -- base plus incentives -- increased 13.4%. All data were gathered and analyzed by the Hay Group, in cooperation with the America Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration. For more information go to http://www.hhnmag.com" Survey: Nurses lead hospital salary increases September 16, 2002. From the American Hospital Association webpages at AHANews.com."HMO executives have piled up truly extraordinary sums of money for themselves. Even if we accept the industry's argument that executive compensation is a result of stunning new management techniques and the elimination of inefficiencies, the money in the executives' pockets formerly was spent on health care. " The Robber Barons of Health Care found in Chapter 4 [ The Financial Sting ó Paying More For Less] in the Book " Making a Killing " by Jamie Court & Francis Smith (With a foreward by Ralph Nader)
Kaiser Permanente