Message from the President

June 2010

WHAT DOES SHARED SACRIFICE REALLY MEAN?

Everyone is feeling the effects of the worst recession of our lifetime – but not in the same way.

CEO William Marino, of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, was recently singled out for his nearly $9,000,000 compensation for one year (2009) – a 59% increase over the previous year. Pay and bonuses to Horizon’s nine highest paid executives for 2009 were in excess of $24 million – a whopping increase of $9 million from the previous year.

At the same time, policy holders were forced to pay higher premiums – 30% in some cases –turning Governor Christie’s mantra of “shared sacrifice” on its head.

We applaud U.S. Senator Lautenberg and NJ State Senators Sweeney and Weinberg for demanding hearings on the compensation of health insurance executives. One such hearing was held on June 14 before the NJ Senate Health Committee.

Are these high salaries in health care industry the exception or the rule? Let’s take a sampling of compensation of NJ Hospital CEOs.

Hackensack University Medical Center, CEO John Ferguson received $3.5 million in compensation before he resigned his position. Valley Hospital System President/CEO Audrey Myers received $975,000 in 2007; Barnabas System CEO Ron Del Mauro reportedly received $8.9 million in compensation in a single year.

These salaries exceed the median for comparables in other states. But even if they didn’t they are grossly exorbitant especially in light of the “shared sacrifices” that those providing the health care services are making.

Our members at UMDNJ have not had a pay raise in three years because of egregious mismanagement by top executives coupled with the precarious financial support from the State of NJ. HPAE members at Englewood Hospital/MC agreed to a wage freeze for a year in order to guarantee safe staffing numbers in the contract. Members at Bayonne MC and Christ Hospital forfeited or delayed wage increases and reduced pension benefits to help their hospitals climb out of the red despite the booming salaries of the top executives and owners.

In the southern part of NJ, there are fewer hospitals, less competition, higher patient censuses and very healthy financial reports. Yet, the salary and benefit increases are modest for all nurses and health care workers.

Scrutiny of public dollars must be required of all hospitals, including and especially, the growing number of for-profit hospitals that are able to hide their profits and compensation from the public and community. Senators Weinberg and Cunningham are co-sponsors of an important bill (S-1468) to require for-profit hospitals to report information to the DHSS. Assemblypersons Vanieri-Huttle, Wagner, and Chiappone are the sponsors of the same bill in the Assembly.

National health care reform has done much to cover millions of Americans who are without any health care coverage, but it is weakened by the billions of healthcare dollars that are funneled to a small number of executives who enjoy a distorted view of their own worth.

Health care reform cannot be fully realized unless and until abuses in the system are stopped, and the delivery of quality health care becomes the sole priority of any and all decisions that are made.

In Solidarity,
Ann Twomey
President, HPAE

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Read the Full Clarion

NJ Budget Problems Made Worse by Cuts and Veto of Millionaires Tax
June 2010
To download, Click here


HPAE Members Respond to the Crisis in Haiti
February 2010
To download, click here.


HPAE Contract Settlements
August 2009
To download, click here.


Our Message To Hospitals: Get “Back 2­­ Basics”
May 2009
To download, click here.