General belt tightening, but no layoffs at Beth Israel

Why do hundreds of Beth Israel employess not receive health care as an employment benefit when the CEO makes $1,000,000 dollars a year? (I don't know if that annual income amount includes deferred income, pre-tax retirement income.)

The BI's non-profit status means that hospital does not pay real estate taxes to help support the services they receive from the town such as fire and police. They do not pay corporate income tax to the federal and state government either.

No doubt, we benefit from having such an excellent teaching hospital in our community but if you take an honest look at the situation, the BI is not a good citizen becuase they take full advantage of non-profit status all the while running the operation to generate revenues than exceed their costs, and they don't pay taxes, and they don't provide healthcare as a basic benefit to all emploees.

But back to the original point, how can a non-profit hospital justify not providing health coverage for employees while paying the CEO in the top income range in the country? By the way, the CEO's RAISE last year was 4.5%, or approximately, $43,000. That raise alone would buy health insurance for 10 employees.

_{http://tinyurl.com/SayNotoJoe}

None of us set our own compensation. These amounts are set by the members of the community who serve as Trustees of the hospitals.

Half of your board isn't even in the hospital. 3 out of 15 are women. You're part of that board, and one of only two people who aren't doctors on the board. All are chairs of departments, executives, and deans. None of you are "part of the community".

Second: Your salary was set in a motion of some sort- either specifically, or as part of the hospital budget as a whole. And you were plenty free to make a motion to amend your salary downwards, or to comment on the motion to the effect that you didn't feel the compensation was in line with current economic conditions and that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

In fact, the dude over at Partners did just that when the board wanted to give him a TWENTY PERCENT raise a year or two ago. He said "no thanks, I'm happy with 'only' ten percent."

The amounts we are paid, and the manner of determining those amounts, is subject to strict review by the IRS as part of its supervisory authority of the nonprofit status of our hospitals.

I've never heard such unmitigated bullshit in my life. The IRS subjects you to "strict review"?

I'm so sick of the "we're a non-profit!" crap. Being a non-profit doesn't appear to stop you from charging a couple hundred bucks for some asprin, now does it?

Then there's the whole class system. When I worked for an area hospital, people would say, "oh, you must have amazing health care benefits!" HA HA, NO. We were told that the reason our salaries were below market-rate was because "we're a non-profit organization." Yet, I see surgeons and execs getting paid half a mill a year...and all the doctors are conveniently employed by a separate organization, with far a better benefit package...while regular staff get the shaft (comparatively.)