Hospitals: Chief Executives' Compensation, 1989-1991 (Testimony,
12/07/93, GAO/T-HRD-94-70).

In recent years, the media have scrutinized the high salaries--some
approaching $1 million annually--paid to health care executives, in some
cases linking them to the rising cost of health care.  Yet little has
been known about how representative such salaries are of the industry as
a whole or about the various factors that influence chief executives'
compensation.  A GAO survey of more than 400 hospitals found that the
average annual compensation of hospital chief executives in 1991 was
$131,000--ranging from about $31,000 to $850,000--but that their actual
compensation was understated by what they earned for their services to
related businesses, such as medical equipment companies, pharmacies,
diagnostic centers, and property management firms.  Differences in
compensation earned by hospital chief executives were due largely to
varying hospital characteristics, inpatient data, financial performance,
and location.  For instance, executives employed by large for-profit
hospitals in the Northeast were likely to receive the highest pay.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HRD-94-70
     TITLE:  Hospitals: Chief Executives' Compensation, 1989-1991
      DATE:  12/07/93
   SUBJECT:  Hospitals
             Executive compensation
             Health care cost control
             Income statistics
             Hospital administration
             Hospital bed count
             Salary increases
             Reporting requirements
IDENTIFIER:  Medicaid Program
             Medicare Program
             
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