May 11, 2020 / Stephanie Goldberg
Some hospital CEOs are taking pay cuts as COVID-19 losses mount.
As the virus spread beginning in mid-March, the falloff in patient volume and a ban on lucrative nonemergency surgeries led many hospital chains to lose tens of millions of dollars a month or more. 
As of Monday, facilities in Illinois that meet certain safety and capacity requirements are now able to offer some elective surgeries. Still, to ensure financial stability, organizations like Advocate Aurora Health and Loyola Medicine have had to cut costs—including at the top.
Advocate Aurora CEO Jim Skogsbergh’s base salary is being cut in half this month until at least mid-August. The 28-hospital chain did not provide Skogsbergh’s current pay, but he took home a total of $8.5 million in 2018 when his base salary was $1.8 million, according to recently released filings.