Hospital exec pay keeps rising

The paychecks of executives are not immune from the public scrutiny of the country's hospitals (and corporations) lately.

For example, Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan under operator Vanguard Health Systems earned $2.41 million in compensation, including salary, bonuses, and stocks, which caught the attention of the Detroit Free Press yesterday. The multi-million-dollar figure is up from the $1.98 million in 2009.

As Occupy Wall Street protests the gap between the rich and the poor, Duggan said, "I do believe people should be able to work hard and earn a lot of money. (But) the gap between the top and the bottom is not fair in this country. I don't have the ability to fix the world, but my wife and I are making a gesture that's appropriate for us," he said about the scholarships he provides for the children of Detroit Medical Center's employees.

Among the other highest paid healthcare CEOs in the region, according to the article, are the following:

Health system

Name

Compensation

McLaren Health Care

Phillip Incarnati

$5.57 million in fiscal 2010

Trinity Health

Joseph Swedish

$3.82 million in 2009

University of Michigan Health System

Dr. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz

$1.03 million in 2010

Similarly, St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center in Idaho has seen executive salary increases, amid growing expenses, reported Twin Falls News yesterday.

Previous CEO Mark Schwartz earned about $290,000, excluding benefits and other compensated expenses, according to the article. Schwartz received a 5 percent increase in 2010 and a 24 percent increase in 2009. The hospital also increased employee compensation by 7 percent both years.

Healthcare executives on average this year saw salary increases of 3 percent at healthcare systems and 2.8 percent increases at independent and subsidiary hospitals, according to consulting firm Integrated Healthcare Strategies in a report last month.

For more information:
- read the Detroit Free Press article
- read the Twin Falls News article
- check out FierceHealthFinance's special report, "Seven 7-figure paychecks"

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