PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Senate has approved legislation to cap local hospital executives’ pay at 110 percent of the average salary for similar positions in the Northeast.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Michael J. McCaffrey, D-Warwick, filed the legislation in response to reports that Lifespan CEO George Vecchione was paid $3 million in salary and benefits in the previous two years, making him the highest-paid hospital executive in New England.

Several other executives were also paid more than $1 million annually in recent years, and a survey by Modern Healthcare magazine showed that most Rhode Island hospital CEOs are paid more than the national average for institutions of similar size.

“The resources just don’t exist to justify paying millions to executives at hospitals,” said McCaffrey. Similar legislation has been filed in the House.

Hospital leaders oppose it, saying it would hurt their competitiveness. •