Executive pay, bonuses spark concern at Cleveland’s MetroHealth System

The pay packages of MetroHealth System's top-tier executives -- base salary plus potential incentives -- ranks near the top 25% when compared to that of similarly sized health systems, according to a report by a national compensation adviser. The report, completed in April and provided to The Plain Dealer last week, provides an inside-look at the way MetroHealth pays 18 executives when county leaders and the public have questioned the spending practices of the county-owned health system. MetroHealth hired Mercer, as it has for at least four years, to review the system's executive-level pay and severance policy to determine if they were in line with industry averages. What Mercer found this year was a staff with "more competitive pay levels than has historically been the case" -- including one salary so high that the firm suggested a review of whether it was "reasonable."