To the editor: SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West and Mikey Vaughn, a certified nursing assistant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, want to cap the pay of healthcare executives (“Medicaid cuts reignite clash between California health worker unions, hospitals,” June 10). As a former director in finance for hospitals, I wonder if Vaughn has ever attended executive-level meetings with finance at a hospital. If he and others who share support for this measure attended, they would see the costs of technology, building codes and policies, security, staffing, regulatory demands, food, risk management and the list goes on.
When Vaughn goes home after his shift, his work stays at the hospital. The executives are dealing 24/7 with supply chain issues, emergency shutdowns and so on. The executives are worth their salary.
Let’s put this in perspective: My niece is a registered nurse at a Cedars-Sinai location. She makes $131 an hour, plus benefits and overtime. Multiply that by however many hundreds of nurses the hospital pays at this rate, with an incoming increase. It’s not that the nurses don’t deserve it — they do — but the executives that maintain and take all levels of responsibility for the hospital deserve their pay as well.
Hospitals are hurting from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rising costs and financial cuts from insurance reimbursement, etc., and we still have to maintain the best possible patient care. I hope this ridiculous measure regarding executive pay does not pass.
Amy Cavan, Los Angeles
