Post by addisona on Feb 12, 2022 13:37:05 GMT
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vast disparities in health care not only in access to care and patient outcomes, but also in the inequities of hospitals’ pay for different employees. While some hospital executives took modest pay cuts for a few months to make up for financial losses, more than 80 percent of hospitals continued to provide CEO bonuses, even as other hospital workers were furloughed or had their pay slashed. As is often the case, one story can tell a much larger and important story. Last year, a hospital technician whose take-home pay was $30,000 per year contracted COVID-19 on the job. Upon his return to work, he was named employee of the month and given a $6 gift voucher for the hospital cafeteria. The hospital system CEO—who was not on the frontlines of COVID-19—received a 13 percent boost in his total compensation, which was worth $30.4 million.
While such glaring chasms in pay are not unique to hospitals, the pandemic has triggered the question of whether executive compensation should be part of the broader discussion about equity within our health care system, especially as minorities and women are often the employees at the lower end of the wage spectrum. Moreover, the impact of hospital employee wages goes beyond the individual. Since hospitals are often the largest single employer in their region, the salaries they pay their workers may have a significant impact on the financial stability and income security of the entire community.
This story and the embedded facts raise two key questions: How big is the gap between the pay of the workforce and the CEO, and what are the implications? We explore these questions using new data and insights from a recent study conducted by the Lown Institute.
Hospitals in certain Mid-Atlantic/New England states had especially high rates of executive compensation compared to average worker wage. In Connecticut and Maryland, CEOs made 13 times the average hourly worker’s wage, while in Delaware, New York, and New Jersey, CEOs made 12, 11, and 10 times average hourly wages, respectively. By comparison, hospitals in some midwestern and Great Plains states had much lower rates. In Idaho, Mississippi, and North Dakota, CEOs made about five times the average hourly worker’s wage. Hospitals in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kentucky, Washington State, and Arkansas also had average ratios below six.
www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20220208.925255
While such glaring chasms in pay are not unique to hospitals, the pandemic has triggered the question of whether executive compensation should be part of the broader discussion about equity within our health care system, especially as minorities and women are often the employees at the lower end of the wage spectrum. Moreover, the impact of hospital employee wages goes beyond the individual. Since hospitals are often the largest single employer in their region, the salaries they pay their workers may have a significant impact on the financial stability and income security of the entire community.
This story and the embedded facts raise two key questions: How big is the gap between the pay of the workforce and the CEO, and what are the implications? We explore these questions using new data and insights from a recent study conducted by the Lown Institute.
Hospitals in certain Mid-Atlantic/New England states had especially high rates of executive compensation compared to average worker wage. In Connecticut and Maryland, CEOs made 13 times the average hourly worker’s wage, while in Delaware, New York, and New Jersey, CEOs made 12, 11, and 10 times average hourly wages, respectively. By comparison, hospitals in some midwestern and Great Plains states had much lower rates. In Idaho, Mississippi, and North Dakota, CEOs made about five times the average hourly worker’s wage. Hospitals in Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kentucky, Washington State, and Arkansas also had average ratios below six.
www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20220208.925255