I tried to google this but couldn't find much information on it. Does anyone here know what the typical salary range would be for a CEO and CMO of an inpatient behavioral hospital? I have always been curious how much psychiatrists that are CMO for an inpatient psychiatric unit typically make and what a CEO (non-psychiatrist) makes at stand alone psychiatric hospitals. Thanks.
CEO and CMO Salaries
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For CEOs there is not really going to be a typical range as the size and (to some extent) profitability of the hospital will make a huge difference. Most IP units that have CEOs are going to be for-profit and often will not be making CEO salaries publicly available (it would look awful if people knew how much they made).
CMOs on the other hand are typically making a relatively modest bit more than the other MDs, usually exchanging some portion of clinical time for admin time and a small pay bump. They may be eligible for equity grants or things that the other MDs do not have. In concrete terms I would expect pay bump to be $0-$100k at the very high end for CMO pay compared to average staff psychiatrist.
The way older/well known docs make their money these days is setting on "advisory boards" for public or privately owned companies and exchange a very small amount of their time for equity or a very high hourly rate. They are not then involved in the clinical care of individual patients.
CMOs on the other hand are typically making a relatively modest bit more than the other MDs, usually exchanging some portion of clinical time for admin time and a small pay bump. They may be eligible for equity grants or things that the other MDs do not have. In concrete terms I would expect pay bump to be $0-$100k at the very high end for CMO pay compared to average staff psychiatrist.
The way older/well known docs make their money these days is setting on "advisory boards" for public or privately owned companies and exchange a very small amount of their time for equity or a very high hourly rate. They are not then involved in the clinical care of individual patients.
Yeah, don't expect too much of a bump for a CMO. It's more about preferring to do admin than clinical care as opposed to making more money. Could definitely easily be as low as $10k-$15k for a smaller hospital. As far as CEO, I don't think that's often a physician and you definitely won't hear about their salaries.
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I’d expect CEO to be low 6 figures. CMO varies but can make less than staff psychiatrists as they trade production for admin.
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About a zero short from the one I know of. The COO from the last organization I worked for (so significantly lower than CEO) of a non-profit healthcare organization that had to make salaries public was $750,000 and this guy struggled to hold a basic conversation about healthcare. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble that thinks MDs are anywhere near the top of the pay scale, certainly not psychiatrists.
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The OP is asking about CEO of a stand-alone inpatient psych center, not a large non-profit healthcare organization.
CEO of an insurance company or large healthcare system is 7+ figures. That isn’t the question though.
In the city I am in the CEOs of private psych hospitals make upwards of one million or even a little higher. In my opinion, most hospitals would be better served with physician CEOs with business education (MBA) in addition to the MD. The CEO/COOs around here with just MBAs (or strangely enough, sometimes even lower degrees- LCSW for example) are not very impressive.
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Private psych hospitals are often nonprofits. The CEOs of these organizations are typically not that well paid. Generally CMO of a smaller hospital is paid less than a surgeon at the hospital.
It's relatively easy to replace a CEO of a midsized (~50-500 employees) organization.
It's relatively easy to replace a CEO of a midsized (~50-500 employees) organization.
Yes, thanks for the responses. I was wondering more about CEO (non-MD) and CMO (MD) for like a 100-150 bed for profit inpatient level 1 psychiatric hospital. Have always been curious about the pay range of the CEO and CMOs.
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I would say not much more (if at all) than the most senior staff MD. If the person has no MD, generally around 300k. If the person does have an MD, maybe around 400k.
This type of roles also have limited potential for advancement. Large multispecialty groups typically look for more junior executives who have experience dealing with specialties outside of psychiatry. Large psychiatry group practices (rare) do not hire from outside.
The non-MD CEO might also be the owner of the company, in which case the profitability determines the payout, and that's highly variable. I've seen numbers ranging from negative one million per bed to positive 2-3 million per bed depending on payer mix, efficiency, etc.
By the way, as someone who has some rudimentary knowledge of this space, it's not at all a good business line. Valuation is at BEST 2x EBITA. A lot of them are not profitable at all and eventually get converted into nonprofits. PE had some interests in 2010s for rollups, and that's not really scaling. This is definitely not derm/rads.
The most profitable segment of mental health is most definitely in outpatient. I recently had a call with a boutique PE about selling a practice, and he quoted me 5x EBITA, and that's with a generous owner's salary draw.
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I'm aware. I worked for a UHS hospital that was a stand alone inpatient psych center as a CMO. The CEO salary was a 0 on top of what you were describing. I have literally been on the CEOs Yacht and seen pictures of his beach villa in Mexico. We are not talking about an insurance company or multispecialty system.
