UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff made nearly $9M last year, a $430K bump

UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff made $8.97 million in the health giant’s last fiscal year — a $430,000 year-over-year pay hike, records filed Friday show.

Romoff’s total compensation from July 1, 2018, through the end of June 2019 amounted to a 5% increase from 2017-18, and a 47% increase from 2016-17 — when he made $6.12 million, according to UPMC’s form 990s filed with the IRS.

Meanwhile, several top executives saw decreases in their compensation packages.

Former Chief Financial Officer Robert A. DeMichiei’s salary and related compensation totaled $1.6 million — down from $2.35 million in 2017-18 and $2.7 million in 2016-17.

DeMichiei stepped down from the post in December.

UPMC Health Plan President and CEO Diane Holder made $3.23 million, down from $3.52 million the previous year and $3.68 million in 2016-17.

Dr. Steven D. Shapiro, chief medical and science officer, made $2.66 million, down from $3.16 million the prior year and about the same as he made in 2016-17.

Leslie Davis, chief operating officer of UPMC Health Services Division, had a total compensation of $1.85 million; and Scott Lammie, board treasurer and CFO of UPMC Health Plan, earned $1.3 million.

More than two dozen UPMC executives and doctors took in compensation that topped $1 million during the 2018-19 fiscal year, records show. Sixteen made more than $2 million, up from 11 employees who did so the prior year.

UPMC spokeswoman Susan Manko said an executive compensation committee of UPMC’s board determines pay packages. She said they are based on annual 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. “Performance criteria include patient satisfaction and quality, community benefits, operational and financial strength, and leadership development, among others.”

UPMC is Pennsylvania’s largest employer outside of the government. The nonprofit health care system employs more than 90,000 people, including more than 4,600 physicians across 40 hospitals and more than 700 doctor’s offices.

A total of 9,466 employees — or about 10% — made more than $100,000 in 2018-19, the IRS forms show. UPMC had close to 9,000 employees eclipse $100,000 the prior year.

Despite grappling with losses amid the covid-19 pandemic, UPMC has no imminent plans for any layoffs, Manko said.

UPMC, a nonprofit health care system headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh’s U.S. Steel Tower, controls provider and insurance arms. Its insurance membership has grown to 3.8 million people.

On Thursday, UPMC released its annual public benefits report, citing $1.4 billion in IRS-defined community benefits and charity care in 2019 — up $175 million from the previous year.

The health system has more than $6 billion in net assets and generates about $21 billion in annual revenue.