With a compensation that totals nearly $21 million in 2010, CEO Wayne Smith of Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) in Tennessee, ranks number six on the list of overpaid CEOs, according to Business Insider.
Examining companies whose share prices fell but their CEOs made more than $11 million in 2010, Smith's above-average paycheck follows that of other big companies like Cisco, AFLAC, Motorola, Avon, and Staples.
Smith joined Community Health Systems in 1997 with 20 years of experience, according to the article.
Many supporters of healthy CEO paychecks argue the generous compensation is oftentimes justified for leadership and commitment. However, as hospitals struggle with reduced reimbursements and frozen budgets, others decry executive compensations in the multimillions.
At Jackson, Mich.'s Allegiance Health, the pay for the top executives are plateauing with only a combined 0.39 percent pay increase, for instance.
However, in other parts of the country such as Atlanta, healthcare executive pay is above average for such a position.
For more:
- read the Business Insider article
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