More than 80% of healthcare organizations have a written severance agreement with their CEO, according to a new survey.

The 2013 Health Care CEO Severance Survey, conducted by Mercer, Witt/Kieffer and Hunton & Williams LLP, looked at CEO severance policies for just under 200 healthcare providers and managed care/health plan groups in the U.S.

“As the industry itself is becoming more complex, so are CEO severance packages,” said Jena Abernathy, partner with Witt/Kieffer. “There are significant differences in the way that terms and provisions can be structured, so it’s important that healthcare organizations gather information about standard practices and benchmark against each other.”

Two-thirds of organizations surveyed said severance benefits were subject to a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement. Most organizations continued benefits during a fixed period, generally two years.

More survey results can be seen here.