Despite rising costs and slim operating margins for hospitals following the pandemic, compensation for the chief executives of three major health care systems in Massachusetts rose to new heights in 2024, according to newly released records.
Compensation for Dr. Kevin Churchwell, chief executive of Boston Children’s Hospital, rose more than 9 percent, to almost $3.5 million in 2024, according to the filing.
Dr. Laurie Glimcher, who stepped down as president and chief executive of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in October 2024, received an 8.9 pay increase that year, with her total compensation climbing to almost $2.7 million, according to the institute’s latest tax filing.
Meanwhile, compensation for Dr. Eric Dickson, chief executive of UMass Memorial Health, increased by almost 6 percent, to $4.1 million, said the filing for the Worcester-based health system.
Not every major health system leader saw a pay bump in 2024. Beth Israel Lahey Health’s chief executive Dr. Kevin Tabb received $4.7 million in 2024, a nearly 13 percent decrease compared to the year prior. Tabb’s base salary increased modestly year-over-year, but he received nearly $600,000 less in bonuses and other incentives, according to annual filings.
Total compensation is a reflection of an executive’s base salary, bonus pay, retirement benefits, and more. The filings submitted to the Internal Revenue Service are required of all nonprofits, but the figures typically lag by about two years.
For health systems, 2024 marked the shift into a post-pandemic world. Emergency departments and intensive care units were no longer overrun by COVID patients. At the same time, people who had put off care during the pandemic returned to their doctors’ offices, often sicker than before.
Overall health care spending in Massachusetts climbed to $83.3 billion in 2024, up 5.7 percent from the year prior. That far exceeded the state’s health care cost growth benchmark of 3.6 percent, according to the Massachusetts Center for Health Information & Analysis, which is a goal set by state officials for spending increases.
It was also the year that Steward Health Care, a for-profit hospital chain, stumbled into bankruptcy in a notorious collapse, leading to the sale of six of its Massachusetts hospitals and the closure of two others.
“This put huge stress on surrounding hospitals contending with the ripple effects, while souring public perception of executive pay across the board, even for non-profits,” said David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group, a Boston management consulting firm.
Massachusetts hospital executives handle daunting challenges and their leadership ensures the state’s top-ranked health care system remains of the highest quality for patients, said Michael Sroczynski, general counsel for the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association, a trade group.
“Being a hospital leader today requires an exceedingly rare, special set of talents: the ability to oversee complex institutions that save lives and drive breakthroughs every day, the strength to withstand historic pressures, and the vision to innovate based on the unique needs of local communities,” Sroczynski said.
Health care, he added, contributes nearly $100 billion to the local economy each year and employs 207,000 people, adding 10,000 jobs in the past five years.
Susan Malanowski, managing director of compensation at the Wilson Group, said the shuttering of Steward Health Care could have influenced how health system boards were considering their own executive compensation.
“Whether that was on their board’s mind or not in 2024, I don’t know for sure,” Malanowski said. “But there was so much focus on Steward at the time.”
The Globe will compile executive compensation data for major hospital systems in Massachusetts throughout Monday. Check back for updates.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jonathan.saltzman@globe.com. Marin Wolf can be reached at marin.wolf@globe.com.