Universal Health Services CEO was highest-paid hospital leader in 2016

If you were judging hospital executives by their pay, the winner would Alan Miller, MBA, chairman and CEO of Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services (UHS), who earned $51.3 million in 2016.

That’s according to Axios, which based the title off his base salary, gains on stocks and options, incentive compensation and payment for perks and personal benefits detailed in the company’s annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It’s a separate methodology than an earlier Axios report which compared hospital CEOs based on how much they’re paid per patient day.

Miller’s high level of compensation isn’t surprising considering he founded the company and has held the CEO and chairman titles ever since, along with being its president until 2009. That title now belongs to his son, Marc, who made $7.2 million last year.

“The Compensation Committee, in determining Mr. Alan Miller’s compensation, takes into account his position as chief executive office , his role as a founder of our company in 1978, his years of dedicated service and his expertise and reputation in the hospital management industry,” the proxy filing said. “The Compensation Committee also considers Mr. Alan Miller’s responsibilities in overseeing all of our company’s businesses, operations, development and overall strategy and his role as the public face of our Company, which shapes our corporate image and identity. These factors differentiate Mr. Alan Miller from the other named executive officers.”

The filing said Miller’s compensation was above the 75^th percentile for groups made up of his peers and the hospital industry in general, but it also noted the median tenure for other CEOs was 5.2 years, far below Miller’s 38.

UHS also had a successful year financially in 2016, reporting net income of $702 million on revenues of $9.8 billion, an improvement on 2015 net income of $680.5 million on revenues of $9 billion.