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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Essentia Health

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 200360007
MN · NTEE E112
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Herman Md, Executive Director / CEO ($3,357,481) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 314 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: David Herman Md — reported title “CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

314 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 314 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$876 total compensation of comparable organizations → $12,033,127 $3,357,481
$69,01410th
$219,80425th
$607,654Median
$1,111,64175th
$2,115,00590th
$3,357,481This org · 96th
p10$69,014
p25$219,804
p50$607,654
p75$1,111,641
p90$2,115,005
$3,357,481

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to MN cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Thibodaux Regional Health System Inc LA$348,210,088 Ceo And Board Sec. - Nonvo $1,889,636 $2,045,364 2024
National Jewish Health CO$348,531,726 President And Ceo, Bod Member $2,524,315 $2,449,631 2023
Heartland Health & Wellness Fund OH$347,847,935 Employee $270,799 $281,941 2024
Stc Healthcare Partners Llc PA$347,609,518 President/ce $653,968 $660,005 2023
Pih Health Physicians CA$348,840,433 President, Php, Hms, & Phcs $185,442 $157,407 2024
🔒 309 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to MN cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted88th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 314-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.