According to a recent survey by the IRS, non-profit hospital presidents earned about $500,000 a year on average in salary and benefits--and a smaller group more closely studied by the agency had average salaries of nearly triple that amount, or $1.4 million.
These numbers don't please Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who feels these wages may be too high and that hospital boards aren't taking enough responsibility for their role in approving them. He plans to introduce legislation that could change all that, though.
Right now, such salaries seldom come into question, as under current IRS rules, the burden is on the agency to prove such compensation is excessive. Grassley is considering rules that would require hospital boards to rely on a consultant's analysis comparing salaries for similar institutions to justify executive compensation. If executive wages are questioned, the board--not the IRS--would have to prove the compensation package was appropriate.
To learn more about Grassley's initiative:
- read this piece from The Boston Globe
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