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Top executives at medical boards frequently make more money than the average practicing physicians they regulate -- and sometimes it's a lot more.

乌鸦传媒 looked at tax documents for ABMS and its 24 member boards to find executive compensation and compared those figures with data from the American Medical Group Association's latest physician salary survey.

The analysis found that for the 19 boards with complete data on both executive and physician pay, 12 of those executives made more than the median specialist salary.

Some of the widest gaps in compensation were seen for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).

ABIM -- which brought in $65 million and had 293 employees in 2018 -- governs a range of specialties including cardiology, oncology, infectious disease, and internal medicine. Its president and CEO, Richard Baron, MD, made $643,065 in base salary and bonus in 2018 -- which rose to $1,140,493 when other compensation, such as retirement and non-taxable benefits, was included.

The typical physician certified by ABIM made just a third of that total, or $376,288. Salaries ranged from $247,171 for geriatrics to $542,948 for gastroenterology. An internal medicine practitioner made just $288,697.

At ABPN, a $25-million business with 43 employees in 2018, president and CEO Larry Faulkner, MD, made $685,900 in salary and bonus in 2018 -- which jumped to $1,013,297 when other compensation was included. Psychiatrists made a median of $300,864 and neurologists made $321,353.

James Puffer, MD, who in 2018 had three titles at the ABFM -- president, CEO, and secretary -- raked in $689,685 in salary, rising to $936,515 with additional compensation. A regular family medicine practitioner made just $269,860, or about 29% of Puffer's total pay. ABFM saw revenues of $35 million and had 94 employees in 2018.

And David Nichols, MD, MBA, president of ABP, took in $729,704 in salary and bonus in 2018, jumping to $929,895 with additional compensation -- while the average pediatrician brought home $257,432, or 28% of Nichols' income. ABP made $36 million in 2017 and had 126 employees.

"They're doctors who are no longer practicing medicine who've been turned into businessmen," said Paul Teirstein, MD, of the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, who has been an outspoken critic of medical boards and their continuing certification programs, which often bring in a substantial part of their revenue.

For this analysis, 乌鸦传媒 looked at 2 to 3 years' worth of executive compensation for each board using their IRS Form 990, the financial statement that all nonprofits are required to file each year.

Some of the biggest payments to board executives including a $1.9-million bonus for ABPN's Faulkner in 2017, and a $1.4-million severance package for a departed executive director of the American Board of Surgery.

According to ABPN's Form 990, Faulkner's bonus was a "supplemental executive retirement plan rabbi trust payment." are a tax-deferred instrument often used for employee compensation.

In 2009, the board created a non-qualified deferred compensation plan for the president and CEO, which was funded by a monthly contribution of 30% of the president's salary. ABPN said the full balance of the funds invested in the rabbi trust from July 1, 2009, to Feb. 1, 2017, was paid to the executive during the year ended Dec. 31, 2017.

Faulkner told 乌鸦传媒 in an email that a large portion of the payment "immediately ended up in taxes."

In January 2017, Frank Lewis, MD, announced he'd be at the end of that year, after about 15 years at the helm. The board's 990s show $1.4 million in severance for Lewis paid in two installments of $700,000 each, in February 2018 and January 2019.

Jo Buyske, MD, who had served as associate executive director and director of evaluation at ABS since 2008, was named Lewis' successor in June 2017.

Buyske told 乌鸦传媒 that Lewis' severance package had already been set when she took over. Upon review of records, she said that there was a confidentiality clause and that ABS was not at liberty to discuss any details.

Several 乌鸦传媒 reporters contributed additional reporting to this story and infographic: Ryan Basen, Cheryl Clark, Amanda D'Ambrosio, Shannon Firth, Joyce Frieden, and Kara Grant.

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