IRS records: UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff made $9.5M in 2019; pay tops $1M for 32 employees

UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff reaped a $530,000 pay increase in 2019, bringing his annual compensation before the covid-19 pandemic struck up to $9.5 million, records filed Friday show.

The 2019 pay hike follows a $430,000 increase in 2018, when Romoff made $8.97 million, according to UPMC’s Form 990s required by the Internal Revenue Service.

Including Romoff, at least 32 of UPMC’s executives and top physicians made more than $1 million in 2019, up from closer to two dozen who did so the prior year, records show. Fourteen of UPMC’s highest-paid employees made more than $2 million.

UPMC employs more than 92,000 people, making it Pennsylvania’s largest employer outside of the government. The nonprofit health system headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower has an insurance arm with nearly 4 million members, and a provider arm spanning 40 hospitals more and more than 4,600 physicians.

Nearly 10,600 employees — or about 11.5% of UPMC’s payroll — and 324 independent contractors made more than $100,000 in 2019. That’s up from nearly 9,500 who did so in 2018 and nearly 9,000 in 2017, records show.

An independent executive compensation committee of UPMC’s board determines pay packages, UPMC spokeswoman Susan Manko said. Pay is based on evaluations of how employees perform and whether they meet “written, clearly defined goals — including quality of care, community benefit, financial measures and other key factors.”

“The board believes this compensation appropriately reflects executive performance and UPMC’s growth, size and achievements,” Manko said. “UPMC compensates executives fairly and competitively for leading one of the largest and most complex health care systems in the country.”

Record revenue during pandemic

Despite grappling with the covid-19 pandemic and its impact, UPMC ended 2020 with a record-high $23.1 billion in total revenue — nearly $2.5 billion more than the nonprofit health system generated in 2019 and $10 billion more than it did five years ago, according to UPMC’s financial figures released earlier this year.

Former Chief Financial Officer Robert A. DeMichiei’s salary and related compensation totaled $1.87 million in 2019, up from $1.6 million in 2018 but down from $2.7 million in 2016. DeMichiei stepped down from the post in December 2019.

UPMC Health Plan President and CEO Diane Holder made $3.35 million, up from $3.23 million in 2018 but down from $3.68 million in 2016.

Dr. Steven D. Shapiro, chief medical and science officer, made $3.44 million, up from $2.66 million in 2018.

Leslie Davis, chief operating officer of UPMC Health Services Division, was compensated $2.87 million in 2019, up from $1.85 million in 2018.

Talbot Heppenstall Jr., president of UPMC Enterprises, made $3.43 million.

The latest IRS forms cover UPMC’s fiscal year that ends June 30, 2020, but the compensation amounts included are based on the 2019 calendar year that ended Dec. 31, 2019.

The amount Romoff and other executives made in 2020 with won’t be available until next summer’s IRS filings.

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