Ballot measure to cap hospital executive pay at $450,000 qualifies for November
A ballot measure that would cap hospital executives’ compensation has qualified to appear on voters’ ballots in November, according to Secretary of State Shirley Weber.
The proposal would limit executives and administrators at hospitals and physician groups to no more than $450,000 in total annual compensation, including bonuses, stock options and company vehicles. That amount would increase up to 3.5% annually based on inflation. Public hospitals would be exempt from the rule.
The plan is backed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the same union driving the proposed billionaire wealth tax.
In a press release, the SEIU-UHW said executives are making multimillion dollar salaries while “medical costs are soaring, healthcare workers are struggling with low pay and poor working conditions, and patients are facing longer waits and lower-quality care.”
The union’s leader, Dave Regan, is known for using ballot measures as leverage to secure deals. Ballot measure backers have until June 25 to withdraw the measure, a period often defined by intense backroom negotiations between policy adversaries.
In this case, opponents include the California Hospital Association, which has backed a competing measure that would limit healthcare unions spending on ballot measures without first gaining approval from members. The California Medical Association, which represents physicians, is also opposed to the executive compensation limits.
In a statement, CHA President Carmela Coyle characterized the SEIU-UHW’s proposed pay caps as “cynical” and predicted it would cause an exodus of nurses and doctors.
“This dangerous measure comes at exactly the wrong moment for Californians, and our coalition stands ready to defeat it at the ballot,” Coyle said.
The CHA-backed measure aimed at restricting SEIU-UHW has met the signature threshold. It’s now in the final stage of the process, where local election officials spot check signatures to confirm they come from registered voters.
A third SEIU-UHW ballot measure seeks to require federally-funded community clinics to spend 90% of their revenue on program services rather than overhead. It is also currently undergoing signature verification.
Last month, the California Primary Care Association and Open Door Community Health Centers sued to block the measure, arguing it violates federal law.
