ROCHESTER 鈥� In the wake of Mayo Clinic using the leverage of the state nurses union is proposing a 鈥淗ealing Greed Agenda鈥� at the Minnesota Legislature that includes a hospital CEO salary cap.
The Minnesota Nurses Association released its agenda for the 2024 legislative session on Monday, Feb. 5, with the stated goal of putting patient needs ahead of 鈥渃orporate greed鈥� at nonprofit hospitals. The legislative session begins Feb. 12.
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鈥淎s corporate health care executives continue to exert greater and greater influence in our communities, it's never been more important for those who provide the care Minnesotans depend on to speak truth to power,鈥� wrote MNA President and Essentia-Duluth RN Chris Rubesch in the announcement. 鈥淗ospital executives think they run the show. They have the money to pay more than 60 lobbyists to ensure the system stays exactly like it is.鈥�
While the Nurses Association did not specifically name Mayo Clinic, the agenda appears to target it. In 2023, if the Legislature passed the Keep Nurses at the Bedside Act. The bipartisan bill opposed by Mayo Clinic was eventually pulled by the Health and Human Service omnibus.
鈥淭his gross display of corporate bullying made clear the need to put meaningful new regulations on these health care companies, to protect patients and workers from these same corporate abuses in our hospitals,鈥� according to the MNA. 鈥淭he Healing Greed Agenda would take important steps forward to hold hospital executives accountable to patients before profits. It would limit and shine a light on executive pay at nonprofit hospitals; improve public notice when executives plan to close hospitals, clinics, or units; protect patients from predatory medical debt collections; and make sure tax-exempt hospitals give back to the communities they make billions off of, not just pay out millions to executives at the very top.鈥�
In addition to improving nurse staffing and forgiving nurse loans, the MNA Healing Greed agenda includes provisions to make nonprofit hospitals more transparent and accountable.
鈥淚t would limit and shine a light on executive pay at nonprofit hospitals, improve public notice when executives plan to lose hospitals, clinics, or units; protect patients from predatory medical debt collections; and make sure tax-exempt hospitals give back to the communities they make billions off of, not just pay out millions to executives at the very top,鈥� wrote the Minnesota Nurses Association.
The announcement did not state the cap amount that the MNA is proposing for nonprofit hospital CEOs' salaries.
In 2022, Mayo Clinic CEO Gianrico Farrugia was paid $3.72 million, a 6.75% increase
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Many of Farrugia鈥檚 peers were paid much more. Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Tomslav Mihaljevic was paid $12.38 million in 2021 and Cedars Sinai Medical Center CEO Thomas Priselac made $6.12 million in 2021.
Owatonna resident Javon Bea, the CEO of Javon Bea Hospital and a Rochester developer, received $12.5 million from his health system in 2022.
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