Advocate Health has earmarked $776 million of additional spending on its 167,000-person workforce for 2026, including a higher systemwide minimum starting wage plus merit-based and systemic pay increases.
The plan was announced Wednesday by the country’s third-largest nonprofit health system, which operates 69 hospitals and more than 1,000 total sites of care across six states. "Competitive" pay increases and other benefits, including education assistance, will help the organization strengthen its employees’ trust and reduce their stress while benefiting patients, its leaders said in the announcement.
“We are committed to offering compensation that honors the skill, dedication and compassion our teammates bring to their work every day,” Nakesha Lopez, executive vice president and chief people and culture officer for Advocate Health, said in a release. “By investing in our people, while balancing strong financial stewardship, we’re able to attract and retain exceptional talent and ensure every teammate feels valued, supported and empowered to grow with us.”
Executives, speaking earlier this month at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, said they expect Advocate Health to hit $38 billion in total revenue for 2025, representing 9% year-over-year growth, and a roughly 4% operating margin.
In 2024, the most recent year for which a full-year financial statement has been released, the system reported $34.8 billion in revenue. That same year, it spent nearly $19.2 billion on salaries, wages and benefits—about 57.1% of its reported total expenses.
2026’s planned $776 million year-to-year increase in “total teammate compensation” will bring an $18.85-per-hour minimum starting wage beginning Jan. 30. For a 40-hour workweek, that wage would pay over $24,000 more per year than the federal minimum wage, it said.
Elsewhere, the system said it will be making adjustments to annual merit planning and pay-range adjustments “shaped by teammate feedback, to stay aligned with evolving market conditions.” Other funds it plans to use for increases in pay structures, pay grades and eligible base pay will “strengthen retention and support workforce stability,” it said. For these, the organization said it tapped third-party compensation consultants, market surveys and pay data.
Beyond direct compensation, Advocate Health said it will make its education assistance benefit “more generous and, now, available to all full- or part-time teammates across the enterprise.”
Alongside online programs is upfront annual tuition coverage of $5,250 for full-time employees or $2,625 for part-time, with greater support for certain nursing programs. A repayment program for existing student loans will bring a lifetime max of $21,000 for full-time workers and $10,500 for part-time.
In 2025, more than 16,500 employees received nearly $29 million in tuition support, while 4,100 received $12 million in loan repayments, according to the system.
“By expanding opportunities for skill‑building, career advancement and long‑term growth, we’re removing real barriers and opening doors,” Michele Smith, vice president of workforce development and career innovation, said in the announcement. “When our teammates have the support they need to succeed and grow, every patient and every community we serve benefits.”
Advocate Health’s announcement also highlighted new or “enhanced” coverage of certain health-related needs, like menopause care or family planning; well-being benefits like no-cost virtual therapy; and a new benefit providing up to 12 hours of paid time off per year for volunteerism.
Advocate Health isn’t the only major nonprofit being upfront about its plans to boost employees’ compensation. Earlier this month, Providence, which has about 120,000 staff, shared word of more than $600 million in collective pay increases for 2026—though the announcement was clear to note that the record raises are only possible “because of the difficult choices we made in 2025,” referring to the year’s layoffs.