Hospital CEO Pay Rises While Americans Drown in Medical Debt

One in five Americans of working age with health insurance struggled to pay their medical bills in the past year, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The New York Times. Among the uninsured, medical debt is an even bigger problem, with more than half reporting difficulty paying off what they owe. But while millions of people face serious financial troubles due to the high cost of healthcare, some hospital CEOs are raking in millions each year in salaries and other benefits. This has prompted a backlash, with groups in some states fighting to cap the salaries of executives at much lower rates. Making millions In 2014 the United States spent $3 trillion on healthcare. Hospital care accounted for 32 percent of that. Around one-quarter of these costs are due to administrative overhead, according to a 2014 study published in the journal Health Affairs. This includes the salaries and benefits of hospital executives. Not every hospital executive earns millions of dollars each year, but most are paid relatively well. According to a report by the The New York Times, hospital executives in 2013 earned an average annual salary of $386,000. This doesn't include bonuses or other incentives. Surgeons made an average of $306,000, and general practice doctors made an average of $185,000. Among the CEOs of nonprofit hospitals, the average base salary in 2009 was $595,781, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. In 2015, however, economic conditions chi...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news