Health Insurance Company CEOs Total Compensation in 2008
photo by wardomatic via flickr
A few months back we posted the Total Compensation for a number of Health Insurance Company CEOs for 2007. Those numbers, culled from the companies’ SEC filings (Schedule 14A) appears immediately below. Below that are the numbers for 2008, courtesy of FierceHealthcare.com through Jan Rodolpho, RN.
As you can see, the year has brought decreases for some CEOs (but not all). One wonders, discretion being the better part of valor, if the clamor for health care reform and the pursuit of a Public Plan, has counseled caution –for the time being– regarding executive compensation. If the timing for further compensation has merely been adjusted so as to backload payments until after the health care reform debate is settled. Either way, the numbers pretty much speak for themselves. Perhaps a slight bit of context is in order, however: it has struck me that Aetna’s Ronald Williams received $24,300,112 last year. That’s $467,309.85 per week. That’s a house. Maybe not a house that Mr. Williams would live in, but a house nonetheless. The man makes a house a week. And interestingly enough, if Mr. Williams were to eschew the purchase of a house on any given week and instead look to deposit the money in a bank– in order to remain FDIC insured (up to $250,000)– he would actually need to open more than one account–every week. Lest we lament the fate of the other CEOs on the list, in 2008 Ms. Braly had to get by on $189,311.76 per week, and Mr. Hemsley had to somehow manage on $62,327.73 per week (but perhaps he was able to save a little from last year when he made $253,164.02 per week).
Res Ipsa Loquitur.
Ins. Co. & CEO With 2007 Total CEO Compensation
- Aetna Ronald A. Williams: $23,045,834
- Cigna H. Edward Hanway: $25,839,777
- Coventry Dale B. Wolf : $14,869,823
- Health Net Jay M. Gellert: $3,686,230
- Humana Michael McCallister: $10,312,557
- U.Health Grp Stephen J. Hemsley: $13,164,529
- WellPoint Angela Braly (2007): $9,094,271
L. Glasscock (2006): $23,886,169
Ins. Co. & CEO With 2008 Total CEO Compensation
- Aetna, Ronald A. Williams: $24,300,112
- Cigna, H. Edward Hanway: $12,236,740
- Coventry, Dale Wolf: $9,047,469
- Health Net, Jay Gellert: $4,425,355
- Humana, Michael McCallister: $4,764,309
- U. Health Group, Stephen J. Hemsley: $3,241,042
- Wellpoint, Angela Braly: $9,844,212
See Nonprofit Health Related CEO Compensation Here.
Update: “Why WellPoint’s Angela Braly Deserves A Raise”
Update: Health Insurance Company CEOs Total Compensation 2009
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This makes me sick.
I work in a hospital environment. I see sick people requesting medications they need from these health insurance agencies and getting denied constantly.
Obviously if the company were really making profits that justified a CEO getting that much money why do they deny so many necessary services? OH wait because they do not make profits…they have just found a way to get between patients and their healthcare they are arm bending cheesy mobsters basically that have forced us to give them money FOR NOTHING!! They do nothing. They do not provide medication or any healthcare services EVER. All they do is deny and approve peoples requests. I do not feel like I should have to ask a third party if they think its okay I get medical care.
If insurance companies gave people what they pay for (health insurance) then their would not be this debate about these salaries because the money would simply not be there. These disgusting people have no right to the money because its the money people pay them expecting that when the time comes, when they are sick, they will be taken care of, but they aren’t.
These people deserve literally a very small salary they are disgusting evil human beings, and I would love if they were sick and someone denied them medication, they aren’t that smart they just do something most people find moral reprehensible they steal from the sick, orphan children, and ruin this country.
Bravo, gotta love the American Dream.
Even innocent kids have to suffer in this battle… I hope that these executives sleep well at night in any one of their many vacation homes knowing that people who can barely afford their insurance will potentially die due to denied claims….
It’s all about the bottom line numbers and not about saving lives!
Awww! What a happy life they have while most companies deny the claims of many sick people out there. It’s actually disappointing that many of those who claim their benefits will end up in lawsuits. We pay for our health insurance to get a guaranteed medical care and look what happens to some policyholders.
It has been obvious for a long time that Insurance Executives are the robbers and destroyers of the American Health System due to their insatiable greed. They are all disgusting and the Congress should be getting to the root of the health care dilemma in America, oh, but wait, all of Congress is rich and greedy too. When the country bankrupts and the dollar is worthless around the world, then what you pitiful creatures of insurance.
This data only shows that life is not fair at all. We pay for health insurance to get security when we or our loved ones will get sick. But the sad part is that we have to go through a very complicated process to prove to our provider that we are worthy of a claim while their executives are enjoying our money.