UPMC gives $500 bonus to 92,000 employees

UPMC announced Tuesday that its 92,000 employees will receive a $500 bonus for their dedication during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Over the past 20 months, you have risen in truly exceptional ways to meet challenges we could have never anticipated,” CEO and President Leslie C. Davis wrote in an email to employees. “With your critical support, UPMC continues to care for so many — affirming our dedication to excellence, as well as our fundamental mission of service.”

The $46 million in bonuses is part of about $300 million the health care provider said it plans to spend in 2022 to improve compensation and benefits. Additional enhancements to compensation are expected to be announced later this week.

“On behalf of UPMC’s Board of Directors, I am pleased to share that you will receive $500 on Nov. 26 in appreciation of your commitment to our organization and the vital work you do,” she said, adding that it is “my privilege to serve alongside you.”

John Galley, UPMC’s chief human resources officer, said the idea for the bonuses “started with senior management, who recognized the amazing work our teams are doing.”

“It’s never been more intense in health care,” he said. “We have between 500 and 600 patients a day with covid on top of all the other patients, which has really stretched out staff. So the $500 is a way to say thank you to them.”

Senior level employees at UPMC are not eligible for the bonus.

In addition to the bonuses, starting on Jan. 1 UPMC will cover the cost of any increases in employee contributions for health insurance as well as hikes to co-pays and cost sharing, Galley said.

To help with staffing shortages, UPMC will increase the hourly rate when employees take on additional shifts during nights and weekends, he said.

UPMC also plans to increase the level of life insurance employees receive and will offer an affordable health insurance plan to part-time employees.

Galley said some of the increases in compensation are being directed at the health care system’s service employees.

“We’re really excited about the new health reimbursement accounts that we will be offering for full-time employees who make $37,500 a year in salary,” he said. “We’ll be putting $1,000 into an account for single coverage and $2,000 for families to help people pay the cost of their health insurance deductibles. … Even if someone has a small deductible, it can still be challenging. So we felt this was a good way to help them cover those costs.”

Galley said the $15 an hour starting rate for service employees will be increased to $15.75 an hour, which will raise their annual pay to about $33,000.

“That $33,000, when coupled with health insurance, a full pension and other benefits is worth more than $50,000 a year,” he said. “I think that is a great entry point into the health care field for somebody who didn’t have the opportunity to go to college.”

He said UPMC has created a pathway for service employees to advance without a degree and offers tuition reimbursement for those who want to attend post-secondary schools for a different job with the health-care provider to “remove all the barriers for advancement.”

Galley noted that UPMC’s solid revenue places it in a good position to boost compensation for its employees.

Earlier this year UPMC reported that despite the coronavirus pandemic, the nonprofit health care system took in a record-high $23.1 billion in 2020 operating revenue.

Last year’s revenue was nearly $2.5 billion more than UPMC generated in 2019, and $10 billion more than it did five years ago.

UPMC generated $12 billion in revenue from January through July, according to its midyear financial report, which represents an 8% increase in the amount collected as of the same time last year.

The health care provider operates 40 community, academic and specialty hospitals and is the largest non-governmental employer in the state.