POST 27. May 19, 2020. CORONAVIRUS. “Hospital…executives…are taking pay cuts…to help offset the financial fallout from COVID-19.” As “front line” layoffs and furloughs accelerate…

“Top executives at Denver Health Medical Center received significant bonuses this month for their performance in 2019, ranging from $50,000 up to $230,000, one week after frontline hospital workers were asked to voluntarily take leave without pay or reduce their hours as the hospital dealt with the financial downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

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On April 3, Denver Health CEO Robin Wittenstein emailed hospital workers noting “the current situation will stress us financially.”

She announced a hiring freeze and asked employees to voluntarily take leave without pay, use personal time off or reduce their normal work week.

“The goal is to reduce our total salary expense without the need to lay off employees or implement mandatory PTO/furloughs,” wrote Wittenstein.

She said the hospital was also considering mandating workers to use their paid time off, mandatory leave without pay and other steps.

“The goal is to avoid these extreme measures if at all possible,” she wrote.

One week later, on April 10, Wittenstein and her executive staff saw their 2019 Management Incentive Plan bonuses deposited into their bank accounts. They had been notified in late March that this would occur.,,

Wittenstein’s base salary for 2019 was $967,155, her bonus was $230,275 — which equates to 23.8% of her salary. She said her performance bonus is set by the Denver Health Authority board of directors and that the executive bonuses end up putting Denver Health administrators squarely in the middle of compensation for health and hospital executives.

“We want to try to pay people fairly,” said Wittenstein. ”Those incentives are what keeps people at the midpoint of the compensation range,” she said, as compared to colleagues around the country.

She said without the bonus payments, Denver Health executives would be paid less than the average for their counterparts nationwide…”  (A)

“Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds said Friday that handing out millions of dollars in performance bonuses to Denver Health Medical Center administrators and executives in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic was “disgraceful,” and that the money should be returned to benefit front-line health care workers at the hospital.

“That there are certain executives that are receiving large bonuses of tens or sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars, that is not okay,” said Hinds, during a Facebook live statement.

“I’m really frustrated that we have public health administrators… that are taking tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars of bonuses… while working families are sacrificing themselves.”

Hinds said he learned of the performance bonuses from a CBS4 Investigation that aired Thursday night…

Hinds said the right thing to do would be for those executives to give the money back. He said he cut his office staff from three people to two this week which will help save the city money.

But in an email from Wittenstein to hospital staff sent Friday morning, it appeared unlikely bonuses would be returned…

Wittenstein, who received a $230,000 performance bonus on top of her $967,000 salary, said she was sacrificing by using her paid time off in lieu of regular salary, and she was waiving the accrual of paid time off for the next three months.

But Hinds said all that falls short, “PTO days are not enough. We need actual dollars; we need bonuses to be returned to the community.” (B)

“After weeks of defending executive performance bonuses, the board overseeing Denver Health Medical Center said Wednesday it planned to “revisit the compensation philosophy and approach for Denver Health, including but not limited to the leadership group. As part of the work,” said the board statement, “the Board will review the Management Incentive Plan.”…

Wittenstein and the hospital board continually defended the bonuses saying the timing of handing them out was poor, but the strategy itself was sound.

“It gives executives an opportunity to put a portion of their salary at risk,” said Wittenstein, “and earn it based on work that goes on.”..

Wittenstein again apologized for the timing of the bonuses but “not the compensation program the board of directors has approved.”

But in a statement Wednesday, the hospital board backed down, saying it understood “the anger, frustration and pain created by the Management Incentive Payments received by the leadership of Denver Health. The compensation system, was created and is overseen by this board and not by the leadership of Denver Health, or the employees who are covered by the plan.”

The statement went on to say, “Based on the voices we have heard from staff and from leadership, the board will revisit the compensation philosophy and approach for Denver Health, including but not limited to the leadership group. As part of this work, the Board will review the Management Incentive Plan.”

The release also said the leadership group of Denver health, comprised of executives and physician Directors of Service, told the board they are voluntarily reducing their salaries by 20% immediately “to help mitigate the economic impact of this pandemic on Denver Health.””  (C)

“Following public outcry, Denver Health and Hospital Authority Board pledged to “revisit the compensation philosophy and approach for Denver Health.”

Denver Health, which runs hospitals, emergency rooms, a public health department and other medical services, acknowledged the “anger, frustration and pain” caused.

“We know everyone on the front line is working hard, in an incredibly stressful time, taking care of patients while taking risks,” a statement said.

“We regret the division this situation has created but appreciate the willingness of our staff to speak up and share their concerns.”

Dr. Bob Phillips, executive director of The Center for Professionalism & Value in Health Care, told 9NEWS Denver the “choice to give bonuses to leadership at this time, even if it’s based on past behavior or past outcomes” was “frankly unconscionable.”

“Health care leaders and hospital CEOs are in a tough, tough spot, of having to make choices about staff and having to survive in this environment,” Phillips said.” (D)

“Angry about executive bonuses, long hours and a lack of personal protective equipment, Denver Health Medical Center workers announced Tuesday they are forming a union to “fight for workers’ rights, institutional change, and meaningful public investment to improve patient health outcome,” according to a news release from the Communications Workers of America, which would be affiliated with the new union.

Thomas Walker, with the CWA, said there were 20 Denver Health employees on a steering committee, and said the union idea had been “in the works for a little while.” He said it would be open to all employees, ranging from doctors to nurses and beyond.

“The announcement follows troubling revelations about soaring executive compensation and bonuses as nurses and other staff are asked to bear cuts in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis,” said the announcement.

A CBS4 investigation last month reported that nurses and front line workers were asked April 3 to take pay cuts and reduce hours to help the hospital through a financial downturn brought about by the pandemic. But a week later, on April 10, about 140 executives and managers received Management Incentive Plan (MIP) bonuses for their work at the hospital in 2019.

Some of the bonuses to six-figure workers amounted to nearly 20% of their salaries. The hospital CEO, Robin Wittenstein, received a $230,000 MIP bonus.

Wittenstein has defended the bonuses as simply a component of salary and not actual bonuses, but conceded, “The timing of the payments was terrible.”

But in an employee meeting this week, she and other executives who defended the payments were peppered with questions from staff members about salaries for front line workers, a lack of Personal Protective Equipment and short staffing.

“I’m on my sixth day, and I’m exhausted,” said one nurse. Another nurse asked, “What is the bonus compensation for everyone, not just executive staff?” Others asked about hazard pay for front line workers.” (Q)

“When the top-ranked Mayo Clinic stopped all nonemergency medical care in late March, it began to lose millions of dollars a day.

The clinic, a Minnesota-based hospital system accustomed to treating American presidents and foreign dignitaries, saw revenue plummet as it postponed lucrative surgeries to make way for coronavirus victims. The hospital network produced $1 billion in net operating revenue last year, but now expects to lose $900 million in 2020 even after furloughing workers, cutting doctors’ pay and halting new construction projects…

The American health care system for years has provided many hospitals with a clear playbook for turning a profit: Provide surgeries, scans and other well-reimbursed services to privately insured patients, whose plans pay higher prices than public programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

The Covid-19 outbreak has shown the vulnerabilities of this business model, with procedures canceled, tests postponed and millions of newly unemployed Americans expected to lose the health coverage they received at work.

“Health care has always been viewed as recession-proof, but it’s not pandemic-proof,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a health research organization. “The level of economic impact, plus the fear of coronavirus, will have a more dramatic impact than any event we’ve seen in the health care system weather in my lifetime.”..

Hospitals are losing an estimated $50 billion a month now, according to the American Hospital Association. And 134,000 hospital employees were among the estimated 1.4 million health care workers who lost their jobs last month, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows. Across the country, hospitals reported seeing between 40 and 70 percent fewer patients from late March through early May, many of them scheduled for profitable services like orthopedic surgery and radiological scans…

Hospitals that treated high numbers of coronavirus patients say they have been hit especially hard, as they had to spend heavily on protective equipment and increased staffing just as their most profitable services were halted. These patients often had long stays in intensive care units, requiring expensive equipment like ventilators and treatment from multiple specialists.

“We began ordering everything at a feverish pace,” said Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association. “The costs were sometimes 10 or 20 times normal. We were scrounging all over the world for supplies.”

His organization estimates that, across New York City, large academic medical centers lost between $350 million and $450 million each last month. Unlike hospitals fighting smaller coronavirus outbreaks, they could not furlough workers to offset the decline.

“In terms of taking care of patients, our hospitals did the right thing,” Mr. Raske said. “But the right thing has challenged their ability to continue sustaining themselves.” “ (E)

“Probably few hospital systems need the emergency federal grants announced this week to handle the coronavirus crisis as badly as Florida’s Jackson Health does.

Miami, its base of operations, is the worst COVID-19 hot spot in one of the most severely hit states. Even in normal years, the system sometimes barely makes money. At least two of its staff members have died of the virus…

Migoya and executives at other beleaguered systems are blasting the government’s decision to take a one-size-fits-all approach to distributing the first $30 billion in emergency grants. HHS confirmed Friday it would give hospitals and doctors money according to their historical share of revenue from the Medicare program for seniors — not according to their coronavirus burden.

That method is “woefully insufficient to address the financial challenges facing hospitals at this time, especially those located in ‘hot spot’ areas such as the New York City region,” Kenneth Raske, CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said in a memo to association members.

States such as Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana, which the pandemic has touched relatively lightly, are getting more than $300,000 per reported COVID-19 case in the $30 billion, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis.

On the other hand, New York, the worst-hit state, would receive only $12,000 per case. Florida is getting $132,000 per case. KHN relied on a state breakdown provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by HHS along with COVID-19 cases tabulated by The New York Times.

The CARES Act, the emergency law passed last month to address the pandemic, gives HHS wide latitude to administer $100 billion in grants to hospitals and doctors.

But the decision to allocate the first $30 billion according to past Medicare business surprised many observers.

The law says the $100 billion is intended “to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus,” including paying for protective equipment, testing supplies, extra employees and temporary shelters and other measures ahead of an expected surge of cases. It says hospitals must apply for the money…

HHS’ method “could tilt the playing field” against hospitals whose patients are largely uninsured or covered by the Medicaid program for low-income patients, said Bruce Siegel, CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals, a group of systems serving the poor and vulnerable.

HHS said the next slice of the $100 billion to go out “will focus on providers in areas particularly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak” as well as rural hospitals and those with lower shares of Medicare revenue.

Jackson Health’s budget depends heavily on reimbursement for the kind of elective procedures that it has canceled to ensure it has the capacity to handle COVID-19 patients, Migoya said. Lost revenue is $25 million per month, it estimates.

“We cut off our own funding sources in order to sustain our mission,” he wrote in the letter to Azar.”  (F)

“After it faced blowback for how it distributed the first tranche of emergency funding to hospitals, the Department of Health and Human Services plans to set aside funding for hospitals in Covid-19 hotspots and rural hospitals. The agency provided guidance on Tuesday for how the remainder of the $100 billion set aside for healthcare providers under the CARES Act will be spent.

“Our goal in all of the decisions we’re making is to get the money from the Provider Relief Fund out the door as quickly as possible while targeting it to those suffering the most from the pandemic,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a news release. “We will continue using every regulatory and payment flexibility we have to help providers continue doing their vital work until we’ve defeated this virus.”

HHS said it would send $20 billion to hospitals based on their 2018 net patient revenue. This funding is meant to offset the initial $30 billion that the agency sent out last week based on Medicare revenue, which missed some facilities that had been affected, such as children’s hospitals. Healthcare providers in New York and other hard-hit states had also balked at initial $30 billion round of funding given that it didn’t take into account the number of Covid-19 cases hospitals had treated.

In an emailed statement on Wednesday, American Hospital Association CEO Rick Pollack said the newly allocated funds would help hospitals that see high numbers of patients covered by Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.

Addressing concerns about funding for Covid-19 hotspots, HHS is carving out $10 billion for hospitals most affected by the virus. Hospitals in New York are expected to receive a large portion of this funding; New York City alone has seen 138,000 cases and 9,944 deaths attributed to Covid-19 as of Wednesday.

The funding will factor in the number of admissions with a positive Covid-19 diagnosis since January.  HHS also said it would take Disproportionate Share Hospital payments into account, which means hospitals that see patients who are uninsured or covered by Medicaid would get a portion of the funds…

“Hospitals have seen a 12% increase in costs related to Covid, but a 40% to 50 % reduction in revenue. Even the hospitals that are doing well, this has really rocked them back on their heels,” said David Mosley, a partner with Guidehouse. “Do I think (the funding) will make them whole financially? Probably not. … We’ve cancelled all these elective surgeries, but we still have all of the costs associated with those practitioners.”..

A portion of the $100 billion fund will also go to covering uninsured patients who had received treatment for Covid-19, but it’s not yet clear how much will be needed. HHS said healthcare providers who provided treatment for uninsured Covid-19 patients can begin submitting claims in early May.”  (G)

“The Trump administration has said a portion of the $100 billion pie will be diverted to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment for the roughly 30 million uninsured Americans. It’s a significant promise: A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis released Tuesday estimated that hospital costs for the uninsured could reach as high as $42 billion.

And though the emergency funding legislation included a 20% bump in Medicare rates for common treatments of the disease, hospitals could still lose roughly $1,200 per COVID-19 case, according to one analysis.”  (H)

“The American Medical Association, along with other physicians groups, wrote to congressional leaders Wednesday in regard to the funding. While calling the CARES Act as “a meaningful step in preserving the health care infrastructure during today’s crisis and beyond,” the letter urges leaders to “take additional steps to protect patient access to care by preserving the viability of physician practices as part of the nation’s essential health care system.”

The group asked lawmakers to consider supplemental measures addressing financial burdens healthcare providers are facing, such as adjusting Medicare and Medicaid payment provisions for providers unable to repay the accelerated payments.

Expanding small business loans and eligibility for the Paycheck Protection Program is another way to keep financially battered practices afloat. According to the letter, larger physician practices with more than one location but with 500 employees or fewer per location are currently ineligible for the PPP…

“There are providers across the country that aren’t able to work, very much like our restaurants and entertainment industry, large segments of the healthcare industry aren’t able to provide services they normally would,” Verma said. “It’s having a financial impact on both sides. In this next tranche, we’re trying to address that.”” (I)

“In response, hospitals and health care companies have announced a wave of layoffs and cutbacks:

Mayo Clinic said it will cut $1.6 billion in employee pay after suffering a $3 billion revenue loss, including furloughs or shorter hours for about 30,000 staff members…

The federal stimulus packages that have passed will provide about $175 billion, or about 35% of the revenue lost to the health care industry in the first quarter of 2020, Shulkin said.

“The rest will need to come from hard decisions that hospitals are going to need to make,” Shulkin said.

Phased reopening of state economies could help health care’s bottom line, by bringing back elective procedures and other clinical activities that were halted or scaled back during lockdowns, Shulkin said.

“We’re beginning to see this opening up in parts of the country that appear to be safe,” Shulkin said.

But that might be too late for some hospitals, particularly those located in the rural parts of America, Ku noted.

“Rural hospitals were in trouble already, even before all this happened,” Ku said. “It could be that the losses right now are that extra little thing that would push them off the edge. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that some more rural hospitals or very small hospitals, this was the thing that pushed them into bankruptcy.”

Health care will definitely take a severe financial hit as a result of COVID-19, Shulkin said. “But how bad it is, the script is still being written. What happens with the infection is really going to determine that,” he added.

“If we see a second wave or resurgence of infections, we’re going to have to go right back to stopping some of those elective activities, and that’s going to hurt hospitals and health providers further,” Shulkin concluded.” (J)

“This week, California hospitals are planning to ask the state for $1 billion before June 30 to help with revenue losses, said Carmela Coyle, the CEO of the California Hospital Association. An injection of cash from the state could help hospitals avoid or reduce pay cuts and layoffs, she said. California hospitals so far have received $3 billion in aid from the federal government, she added.

Hospitals have also asked that health insurance plans accelerate payments for claims within 30 days during the pandemic. Currently, claims can take up to 90 days to process, but “we need to move those dollars more quickly,” Coyle said during an Assembly budget hearing last week.

Coyle said hospitals have done their best to keep their staff, but furloughs and layoffs have begun. “And that is because 60 percent of hospital spending is for labor,” she told lawmakers.

At the outset of the pandemic, the state asked hospitals to prepare for a surge and make room for about 40,000 more patients at once. “And we did that, we answered that call. We emptied California’s hospitals to make way. That means canceling surgeries and procedures and more,” she said. “But as we begin to assess the damage, the toll is enormous.”

In late April, Gov. Gavin Newsom allowed hospitals to resume some elective surgeries, which is the bread and butter for many facilities. But some hospitals, especially smaller ones or those in rural areas, are already in a deep hole…

“It is a weird dichotomy,” said Joanne Spetz, associate director of research at the Healthforce Center at the University of California, San Francisco. The labor challenge for health systems, she said, is that not all positions transfer smoothly into surge preparedness. A nurse in a primary care office or one who specializes in orthopedic care, for example, perhaps wouldn’t be the best fit to care for a coronavirus patient on a ventilator, she explained.

“So you have furloughs happening in community health centers and in certain departments of hospitals, while at the same time there is concern about a surge and we’re hearing these calls for things like a health corps,” she said.”  (K)

“Connecticut hospitals, stung by the widespread cancellation of elective procedures, a steep drop in emergency room visits and the need for additional staffing and protective gear to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, stand to lose $1.5 billion this fiscal year…

The state’s hospital industry so far has received about $260 million in federal stimulus money to help offset some of the losses, which vary widely by facility. Another $290 million is expected in the coming days. But for many hospitals, the funding isn’t nearly enough to make up for revenue that has vanished since the pandemic began.

Some have resorted to furloughing employees, cutting pay for executives or requiring staff to work reduced hours. Others have looked into options for deferring employee pension contributions and payroll taxes, or getting advanced Medicare payments – maneuvers that help them stay afloat during the immediate financial squeeze.

“There’s still a big gulf between what hospitals have received and the amount that’s remaining,” Schaefer said. “That is potentially going to be a loss that weakens Connecticut’s hospitals tremendously if we don’t figure out a way to address it.”..

With the exceptions of New York and San Francisco, almost every other U.S. hospital has experienced unforeseen declines in patient volume. From March 1 to April 15, health systems in the U S. saw an average drop in emergency visits and in-hospital stays of about 30% to 50%.

Concerns about the financial health of hospitals go beyond patient care. The health systems are a main driver of the economy, and in Connecticut, the state’s hospital association puts their total economic impact – including jobs, health care spending and capital improvements – at $28.9 billion. Hospitals are some of the largest employers in their communities and spend hundreds of millions on buildings and equipment.

With fewer patients, the community hospitals lose bargaining leverage with insurers when negotiating payment rates. And with fewer patients and lower payment rates, the hospitals struggle to invest in programs, staff, marketing or the infrastructure needed to adapt to the changing health care system…

“Larger systems, say Hartford Healthcare or the Yale New Haven Health system, they are seeing the same kind of revenue decline and probably the same kind of expense increase. But if you look at the financial strength of those organizations and their capacity to weather a storm like this, it’s greater,” Charmel said. “It takes a smaller number to do damage here than it does there.”

“Everybody is going to be hurt by this,” he said. “But I think the viability of those independent hospitals is going to be more challenged, without a doubt.” (L)

“As hospitals around Maryland grappled with a flood of coronavirus patients, treatment for other patients dropped so much that the executives are now turning to salary cuts, furloughs and other measures to cope with the loss in revenue.

About four dozen acute care hospitals expect to lose about $1 billion in revenue from April through June, or about a quarter of their normal revenue, according to the Maryland Hospital Association…

Hospitals including Johns Hopkins have told staff, including doctors treating COVID-19 patients, about pay and benefit reductions that could cost them a significant portion of their annual income.

A recent letter to workers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, which includes the system hospitals and school of medicine, officials recognized staff contributions during the pandemic but announced elimination of merit raises, limited hiring, furloughs and suspension of retirement contributions. Executive pay will be cut up to 20%…

Hospital rates in Maryland are tightly regulated by a state agency called the Health Resources Cost Review Commission under a unique agreement with federal regulators. The agency said in early April that it would allow “reasonable” temporary rate increases to all patients, from those having babies to emergency heart surgery, or now getting COVID-19 care.

Rate increases, charged to all public and private insurers, are often controversial and have led to questions about stewardship of the hospitals, pay to executives and spending on community health.

Tequila Terry, a commission spokeswoman, said Thursday that in this case the agency’s projections show losses could be higher than the hospital’s estimate at more than $2 billion, or 44%. Based on that, it expected to allow for a rate increase that could bring in about $200 million, but the final tabulation of the increase as well as the losses at the hospitals will not be known until the end of the year.” (M)

“The Illinois Health & Hospital Association last month estimated that the state’s more than 200 hospitals were losing a total of $1.4 billion a month amid COVID-19, with outpatient revenues down 50 to 70 percent…

Starting May 1, executives and senior managers at NorthShore University HealthSystem are taking 20 to 35 percent pay cuts “as we work through many future uncertainties,” the five-hospital chain said in a statement.

In 2018, CEO J.P. Gallagher’s total compensation was $2 million, $742,000 of which was his base pay, filings show.

“NorthShore is implementing proactive measures to remain financially sustainable so that we may continue serving our communities into the future with the same level of innovation, service and quality they deserve,” the statement says. In addition to pay reductions for leaders, the hospital chain has suspended contributions to employee retirement accounts and required workers to use vacation time as it modifies work hours.

The University of Chicago Medical Center recently announced that it’s furloughing workers and postponing planned capital projects, among other cost-cutting measures, having seen a $70 million decline in operating revenue and a $35 million loss in cash flow in both March and April.”  (N)

Hospital CEOs and executives across the country are taking pay cuts or donating their pay to employee assistance funds to help offset the financial fallout from COVID-19.

Here are several examples, as of May 13:

Hospital CEOs, execs forgo pay amid COVID-19: 30 updates,., by Morgan Haefner, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/hospital-ceos-execs-forgo-pay-amid-covid-19-7-updates.html

here is a breakdown of the hospitals that have furloughed staff in an effort to remain financially stable amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Through May 15th

256 hospitals furloughing workers in response to COVID-19, by Alia Paavola,

“Citing hefty investment losses, Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente saw its net loss reach $1.1 billion in the first quarter of 2020, according to recently released financial results. In the same period one year earlier, Kaiser reported net income of $3.2 billion.

The health system reported operating revenue of $22.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, compared to $21.3 billion one year prior.

The health system also saw its expenses rise to $21.4 billion, an increase of $1.6 billion from the first quarter of 2019.

The system’s operating income reached $1.3 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2019.

The health system said its first-quarter loss was primarily driven by an investment loss of $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2020. This compares to a $1.6 billion gain in the first quarter of 2019.

Kaiser said its first-quarter results also reflect costs to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, but noted that only a “small portion” of the financial effect of COVID-19 was felt this quarter.

“During the first quarter we began establishing mobile hospitals and triage units, recommissioning retired units, increasing our available inpatient capacity, and acquiring additional equipment to prepare for the potential surge of COVID-19 patients,” said Kathy Lancaster, Kaiser’s executive vice president and CFO. “Even with all this rapidly escalating preparation and direct care delivery, only a small portion of the financial effects of the pandemic, in terms of lost revenue and increased costs, was experienced in the first quarter.” “(O)

“The Economic Policy Institute estimates that nearly 13 million Americans have likely lost their employer-sponsored health insurance so far.

“Even if [patients] do go back to the hospital, they’ll be paying a lot lower rate than they did when they had insurance through their employer,” says Christopher Whaley, a policy researcher with the Rand Corporation.” (P)

“The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has sent a letter to other Tenet Healthcare shareholders urging them to reject a $24 million pay package for Tenet Chairman and CEO Ronald Rittenmeyer.

The Teamsters, whose pension and benefit funds invest in Dallas-based Tenet, said time-vesting awards for Mr. Rittenmeyer and Tenet President and COO Saum Sutaria, MD, have made the two executives “the least exposed to corporate performance.”

The union, which represents more than 300 Tenet workers, criticized the company’s decision to furlough 10 percent of its workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic without reining in executive compensation.” (Q)

• A.Denver Health Executives Get Bonuses 1 Week After Workers Asked To Take Cuts, By Brian Maass, https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/04/24/coronavirus-denver-health-bonus-ceo-pay-cuts/
• B.Denver Councilman Calls Hospital Bonuses ‘Disgraceful’, By Brian Maass, https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/04/24/coronavirus-denver-health-bonus-executives-cuts/
• C.Denver Health Board Plans Review Of Bonuses, Doctor Calls Bonuses ‘Corrupt, Misaligned’, By Brian,  https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/05/06/denver-health-board-plans-review-bonuses-executives/
• D.,CASHING IN Hospital ‘pays executives $3.6 million in bonuses after asking frontline workers to take pay cuts’, by Erin Van Der Meer, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11581842/denver-health-hospital-executive-bonus-coronavirus-pay-cuts/
• E.Hospitals Knew How to Make Money. Then Coronavirus Happened., By Sarah Kliff, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/us/hospitals-revenue-coronavirus.html?referringSource=articleShare
• F/Furor Erupts: Billions Going To Hospitals Based On Medicare Billings, Not COVID-19, by Jay Hancock and Phil Galewitz and Elizabeth Lucas, https://khn.org/news/furor-erupts-billions-going-to-hospitals-based-on-medicare-billings-not-covid-19/
• G.HHS heeds criticism; next round of Covid-19 funding will go to hotspots, rural hospitals, By ELISE REUTER, https://medcitynews.com/2020/04/hhs-heeds-criticism-next-round-of-covid-19-funding-will-go-to-hotspots-rural-hospitals/
• H.$30B in CARES funding to be distributed to hospitals this week, Verma says, by Rebecca Pifer, https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/30b-in-cares-funding-to-be-distributed-to-hospitals-this-week-verma-says/575691/
• I.2nd round of CARES funding, with broader reach, to go out this week, by Hailey Mensik, https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/cms-CARES-funding-second-round/576137/
• J.Layoffs and Losses: COVID-19 Leaves U.S. Hospitals in Financial Crisis, by Dennis Thompson, https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-05-06/layoffs-and-losses-covid-19-leaves-us-hospitals-in-financial-crisis
• K.Hospital Layoffs Rising in California as Few Elective Procedures Are Performed, By Ana B. Ibarra, https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2020/05/10/hospital-layoffs-rising-in-california-as-few-elective-procedures-are-performed/
• L.‘There’s pain everywhere.’ Hospitals stand to lose $1.5 billion amid COVID-19 crisis, by JENNA CARLESSO, https://ctmirror.org/2020/05/11/theres-pain-everywhere-hospitals-stand-to-lose-1-5-billion-amid-covid-19-crisis/
• M.Maryland hospitals turn to salary cuts, furloughs amid financial crunch from coronavirus, by EREDITH COHN and LILLY PRICE, https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-hs-hospitals-burdened-by-coronavirus-costs-20200508-mvqlqhaoyreozgs3tsjv3emuvu-story.html
• N.Hospital CEOs take pay cuts amid COVID-19, by Stephanie Goldberg, https://www.modernhealthcare.com/finance/hospital-ceos-take-pay-cuts-amid-covid-19
• O.Kaiser sees $1.1B loss in Q1, by Alia Paavola, https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/kaiser-sees-1-1b-loss-in-q1.html
• P.https://www.npr.org/2020/05/08/852435761/as-hospitals-lose-revenue-thousands-of-health-care-workers-face-furloughs-layoff
• Q.Denver Health Workers Seek To Unionize, By Brian Maass, https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/05/05/denver-health-workers-unionize/
• R.Teamsters union targets Tenet CEO’s pay package, by Ayla Ellison,  https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/teamsters-union-targets-tenet-ceo-s-pay-package.html