Why Angela Braly, CEO of the WellPoint Insurance Co., Deserves a Raise

Angela Braly, CEO of  health insurance giant WellPoint, deserves a raise. As regular readers of this column know, Ms. Braly did not make as much as Aetna’s Ronald A. Williams in 2008.

In a post written back in May of 2009 I noted of Insurance Company CEO Total Compensation:

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….

Less than half of what Mr. Williams brought in, in 2008 Ms. Braly was forced to make ends meet on $9,844,212.

In 2007, her first year on the job: $9,094,271. Which, for those keeping score at home, is $174,889.83 per week. Her predecessor at Wellpoint, Larry Glasscock, received  $23,886,169 in total compensation in 2006. Again, in 2008 Ms. Braly had to get by on $189,311.76 per week. True, it was $14,421.93 more per week than she had made the year prior, but that won’t be nearly sufficient for this year.

So why does Angela Braly deserve a raise? Pay so high that the  FDIC limits on insurance (yes, it’s somewhat ironic) won’t work for her weekly paycheck? Because WellPoint subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross of California has found the audacity to raise individual insurance premiums in that state 39%. That’s right, 39%. This, according to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, “as WellPoint Incorporated, has seen its profits soar, earning $2.7 billion in the last quarter of 2009 alone.”

Profits “soar,” raise rates. What more could Wall Street want?

Secretary Sebelius has demanded “justification” for the increase. In a letter sent to the Wellpoint subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross, she writes:

One of the biggest pressures facing families, businesses and governments at every level are skyrocketing health insurance costs.  With so many families already affected by rising costs, I was very disturbed to learn through media accounts that Anthem Blue Cross plans to raise premiums for its California customers by as much as 39 percent. These extraordinary increases are up to 15 times faster than inflation and threaten to make health care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of Californians, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet in a difficult economy.

Your company’s strong financial position makes these rate increases even more difficult to understand. As you know, your parent company, WellPoint Incorporated, has seen its profits soar, earning $2.7 billion in the last quarter of 2009 alone.

And there you have it, profits soar, raise rates, the stock soars–as will, presumably, Ms. Braly’s stock options. She won’t have “to get by on $189,311.76 per week” for all that much longer. With that kind of move it’s only a matter of time before she finds herself in Mr. Williams’ neighborhood.

Now that the healthcare reform debate awaits its Summit, from the vantage point of its nadir, one might imagine other Insurance Company CEO’s to embark upon a similar strategy. Good thing we jettisoned all those proposed pesky insurance regulations contained in the House & Senate bills.

Because it never gets old to me, here’s the list of Insurance Company CEO Total Compensation:

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.

‘Taking Aim’ at Insurance Co. Executive Compensation

Over the weekend, the Associated Press published a story that told us: “Senate Takes Aim at Insurance Company Executive Pay.”

We’ve taken aim at Insurance Company executive compensation before here on Health Reform Watch, and you can find our article linked here in this interesting article by Morton Mintz at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University’s Nieman Watchdog (or even at the bottom of the Huffington Post posting of the A.P. story, after WSJ).

What Mintz points out is worth noting: he says of Ronald A. Williams, CEO of Aetna:

If Williams would care to justify his compensation — $64,857.46 a day, every day of the year; $2,702.39 an hour every hour of every day — I’d gladly extend him the opportunity to do so.

“Justify his compensation.” The truth is, I have honestly tried to imagine what an Insurance Co. executive could possibly do during the course of any given day to warrant that kind of compensation. Williams’ official bio tells us that:

Under his leadership, Aetna has sought to make a positive impact on health care in America by serving as a catalyst for change, focusing the industry, public policy leaders, physicians and employers on issues aimed at increasing access and affordability.

As a job description, I’m not entirely sure what qualifies as seeking “positive impact” or “serving as a catalyst,” but I’m pretty sure the following, as described by Mr. Mintz, will not qualify as aiming at “increasing access and affordability.”

Now, as I just read in Huffington Post, “Aetna is planning to force up to 650,000 clients to drop their coverage next year as it seeks to raise additional revenue to meet profit expectations.” Maybe he [R.Williams] can justify that, too.

Mintz goes on to list the numbers, but then makes an additional point worth noting regarding the totals:

Others in similar positions are also raking it in. I’ve learned from Seton Hall University School of Law’s Health Reform Watch that Williams’s 2007 compensation of $23,045,834 was nearly $2.8 million less than Cigna CEO H. Edward Hanway’s $25,839,777. Also in 2007, Coventry’s Dale B. Wolf received $14,869,823, United Health group’s Stephen J. Hemsley $13,164,529, Humana’s Michael McCallister $10,312,557, WellPoint’s Angela Braly $9,094,271. and Health Net’s Jay M. Gellert $3,686,230. Total 2007 pay for seven health-insurance CEOs: $100,130,021.

In 2008, Williams led the pack, with $24,300,112, followed by Hanway, $12,236,740; Braly, $9,844,212; Wolf, $9,047,469; McCallister, $4,764,309; Gellert, $4,425,355, and Hemsley, $3,241,043. Total 2008 pay for the seven: $67,859,240.

Suppose the seven had been paid, say, only $1 million each. That compensation would have enabled significant premium reductions — in 2007, of roughly $93 million; in 2008, of about $61 million — that would have enabled purchase of coverage by many of the 45,000 Americans whose deaths each year are linked to lack of health insurance.

Seven execs, two years’ compensation, $154 million in excess of $1 million per year.

Having said that Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal, Aaron Zelinski, makes some very interesting and worthwhile points over at the Huffington Post regarding some of the shortcomings in the proposed Senate measure to curb Insurance Co. exec compensation. The subject readily lends itself to political grandstanding, and the Senate bill looks only to change the corporate tax deduction of health insurance executive compensation. Zelinski’s article, “Political Grandstanding: Excessive Compensation and the Health Care Bill,”  is well worth reading and well worth quoting at length. He writes:

Currently, publicly held corporations can effectively deduct unlimited amounts of executive compensation from their federal corporate income tax returns. Although Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code purports to limit such deductions to $1,000,000 annually per executive, Section 162(m)(4) contains a loophole large enough to sail a mega-yacht through: Deductions are still allowed for any “performance based” pay, no matter how high.

The Internal Revenue Service has interpreted 162(m)(4) to allow almost any compensation plan to pass muster, even when executive compensation is tied to comically low performance metrics. Thus, Section 162(m) has become largely a dead letter; unlimited amounts of executive compensation can be structured as performance-based and therefore deducted for federal income tax purposes.

The current Senate health care bill seeks to revive Section162(m) by removing the “performance based” exceptions. However, the bill applies only to corporate salaries paid to health insurance executives, not to compensation for employees in any other industry.

Under the bill, health insurance companies would only be able to deduct compensation below $500,000 (or, under a pending amendment by Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, $400,000). More importantly, health insurance companies would be denied the Section 162(m)(4) loophole for performance-based pay. These insurance companies could still pay their executives large amounts, but taxpayer money would no longer subsidize such salaries via corporate income tax deductions.

Zelinski further states:

“Unfortunately, the Senate Democrats’ decision to target only the compensation paid to insurance executives belies an unwillingness to address the broader issue at hand: the taxpayer’s subsidy of excessive executive compensation via tax deductions.”

He also points out that “the proposed changes will do nothing substantial to address health care costs, since executive compensation is a minuscule fraction of such costs.”

I think Mr. Zelinski has a point; the net taxpayer result of this provision will certainly not cure what ails us as a country healthcare wise –but, grandstanding aside, it may be a step in the right direction. Some things seem more a matter of principle than money– and if they could speak, I wonder what those 45,000 Americans whose deaths each year are linked to lack of health insurance would say when looking at Ronald Williams’ pay.

Nonprofit Health Related CEO Compensation

Health Insurance Company CEOs in the U.S. earned tens of millions in 2008, but what about nonprofits? If you guessed that nonprofit CEOs are paid less than their private sector counterparts, you are right. But the numbers are no less shocking to the average American. Below are the highest paid nonprofit workers at the largest nonprofit healthcare organizations, hospitals and medical centers in the U.S, courtesy of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Last year, some of the top paid nonprofit workers took pay cuts while others saw increases in compensation. Despite a global recession, many health-related nonprofits reported higher income in 2008, according to the report by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which surveyed compensation information from the top 400 charities and foundations in the U.S.

According to the Chronicle, it asked each organization to answer a questionnaire and provide its most recent 990 tax form. This year, not every organization provided the information. In fact, most of the top paid executives from 2007 did not provide the information in 2008.

Based on 2007 data, the highest paid nonprofit worker was Herbert Padres, chief office of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Padres earned  $6,170,885 in 2007. That’s $118,671 per week. In some parts of the country, that is enough to purchase a home. Every week. It is certainly enough to purchase one of the finest cars on the market.

As we’ve noted before on this blog:
Under the strictures of 501(c)(3) nonprofits are confined to paying executives “reasonable compensation” and supplying “community benefit.” Unfortunately, neither of these terms are particularly well defined. In [this] study’s executive summary, the IRS puts it so:

“The community benefit standard is the legal standard for determining whether a nonprofit hospital is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.”

“Observations. Both the community benefit and reasonable compensation standards have proved difficult for the IRS to administer. Both involve application of imprecise legal standards to complex, varied and evolving fact patterns.”

The varied and evolving fact pattern of nonprofit executive compensation looks something like this:

The nonprofit healthcare CEO with the highest salary in 2008 (given the incomplete response) was James J. Mongan, CEO of Partners HealthCare Systems. Mongan earned $3,376,554 in 2008.

Nonprofit executive compensation, health-related nonprofit:
New York-Presbyterian Hospital Herbert Pardes (CEO): $6,170,885
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Harold Varmus (CEO): $3,677,402
Partners HealthCare System James J. Mongan (CEO): $3,376,554
New York Presbyterian Hospital Steven J. Corwin (COO): $3,127,051
Mount Sinai School of Medicine Samin Sharma (Professor of Medicine and Cardiology): $2,894,580

Note: Aside from James J. Mongan, all numbers are for the 2007. Compensation amounts include deferred compensation and fringe benefits.

See Health Insurance CEO Compensation Here.

Will Ferrell stands up for the real health care victims

From MoveOn.org. Because it’s funny
Click through to the video here.

Take a look at Health Insurance CEO Total Compensation figures here.

The Wonk Room v. AHIP on Insurer Profits

Very interesting article by Igor Volsky over at The Wonk Room on Health Insurer profits and the recent campaign by AHIP to “contextualize” those numbers. I highly recommend you take a look, as Volsky puts Insurer profit, medical loss ratios and CEO compensation in a readily digestible (even if sickening) format while taking AHIP’s “Fact Check” to task.

I do, however, have a contention: for CEO compensation, the source relied upon–Modern Health Care– failed to include “Options Granted” during the course of the year. Not merely a matter of accounting,  for someone like Ronald A. Williams of Aetna, that number added $13,537,365 to his Compensation of “10.8 million.” Add in the $101,487 for “personal use of a corporate aircraft and vehicle, as well as financial planning and 401(k) company matches” and we then have Total Compensation in 2008 for Mr. Williams of $24,300,112 — or, as we’ve posted before, $467,309.85 Per Week.

You can read The Wonk Room article here:

Health Insurance Industry Fudges Data To Downplay Its Astronomical Profits

What Health Care Costs

In light of reports of a recent rising clamor to not enact comprehensive Health Care Reform, in our last post we noted that the total U.S. health care expenses for 2008 was $2.4 trillion or, if written out: $2,400,000,000,000. In an attempt to contextualize that number we noted that to count to 2.4 trillion would take 228,000 years; and that if we piled thousand dollar bills $2.4 trillion would rise 151,200 miles into the air (significantly more than half the distance to the moon) or more than 6 times around the circumference of the earth at the equator.

We also noted that:

If, for the sake of even numbers a family is four people and a house costs $250,000, then $2.4 trillion would be enough to buy 9,600,000 houses, or  a house for every single family in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Milwaukee, Seattle, Atlanta, Cleveland, Miami, Omaha, Raleigh, Oakland, Kansas City, Mo., Tulsa, Portland, Or., Albuquerque, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Memphis, Virginia Beach, Honolulu, Tulsa, Minneapolis, Arlington, Tx, and Washington, D.C. combined. That’s only one year of health care expenses.

And that

$2.4 trillion is 4.3 times the amount spent on defense; 17% of the GDP and that the number–if we do nothing–is expected to rise to $4.3 trillion by 2016– close to double the incomprehensible $2.4 trillion we spent last year in a mere 7 years and enough thousand dollar bills stacked atop each other to get us to the moon.

Today we take a little closer look at that $2.4 trillion in the life of the economy at large and people at home.

$2.4 trillion equals $7,900 per person. Although this chart below from Kaiser Health only goes up to 2007, look closely at the rising percentage of health care expenses to Gross Domestic Product. GDP (as per the Dogs of the Dow), “is defined as the value of all goods and services produced within the geographic territory of an economy in a given interval, such as a year.” Roughly speaking, that’s the value of everything we make or do. We’re at 17% of GDP for 2008. That’s one out of every six dollars. In 1970 it was 7.2%; about one out of every 14 dollars.

Again, 2008’s percentage is roughly 17%; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects that health spending will be a little more than 20% of GDP  by 2018.

According to Kaiser, “Over the last four decades, the average growth in health spending has exceeded the growth of the economy as a whole by between 1.3 and 3.0 percentage points. Since 1970, health care spending has grown at an average annual rate of 9.6 percent or 2.4 percentage points faster than nominal GDP.”

In looking at dollar amounts over time, one may, and should, consider inflation– as a rising tide lifts all boats, so to speak– and an expense of $1.00 in 1970 is equivalent, because of inflation, to an expense of $5.55 in 2009. One must account for that.  But in considering expenses relative to GDP over time the rate of inflation is less significant as it is, in a sense, already factored in–as we are speaking in terms of percentage of the whole of all we make or do from one year to the next. The whole is the whole, regardless. From one in fourteen to one in six is, to say the least, significant.

But having said that, it may be worth taking a quick look at inflation, wages and the cost of health insurance premiums over the last 10 years– if you receive your health benefits through your employer, the chart below should make it clearer where the bulk of that raise you thought you had coming went.

According to National Coalition on Health Care the annual premium for an employer health plan covering a family of four in 2008 averaged nearly $12,700. The annual premium for single coverage averaged over $4,700. That’s over $1000 per month ($1058) for the family of four; nine dollars shy of $400 per month for an individual. The average 30 year fixed mortgage rate for this week is 5.29%. For the sake of even numbers, if a house costs $250,000, the monthly mortgage payment on that house would, at 5.29%, be $1387. Which is to say that the average cost of health insurance for a family of four in 2008 was a scant $329 less than the monthly mortgage for a house. For renters, according to the Census Bureau’s most recent report, the median monthly housing cost– rent, utilities: gas, electric, water, and garbage– was $755 per month.

Importantly, the insurance premiums above: $1058 and $391, do not include co-pays and deductibles– an expense increasingly borne by consumers of health care. And in 2009 both the premiums and the employee contributions rose significantly.

In a post a few months back we noted that HealthCare Finance News reported that according to the Milliman Medical Index (MMI) the average medical bill for a typical family of four covered by an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) program rose 7.4 percent from 2008 to 2009. In actual dollars:

The total 2009 medical bill for a typical American family of four is $16,771, compared with the 2008 figure of $15,609. The $1,162 increase is the highest measured by the MMI since the 2006 increase of $1,168, when cost trends were at 9.6 percent.

The MMI found that employers are expected to pay $9,9947, or 5.4 percent more than in 2008, while employees are expected to contribute $4,004 toward their health costs, an increase of 14.7 percent, and pay $2,820 in out-of-pocket expenses, an increase of 5.4 percent.

As we pointed out then, one should note that the employers’ contribution is nearly $10,000 per year, or $833.33 per month. Together, with employee premium contributions and out-of-pocket for deductibles, co-pays and the like– the actual total is $16,771 or $1397.59 per month. Which is to say that the average expense for medical for a family of four is now greater than the $1387 per month it would cost them in mortgage for that $250,000 house.

It is also worth mentioning, as we have before,  that in 2008  Ronald A. Williams, the CEO of Aetna, received $24,300,112 in total compensation. That’s $467,309.85 PER WEEK.

Medical Expense for a Family of Four Rises

Yesterday we took a look at Health Insurance CEO pay, and noted that Mr. Ronald Williams of Aetna made $467,309.85 per week in 2008, while Ms. Braly of Wellpoint was left to make ends meet on $189,311.76 per week, and Mr. Hemsley of United Health was forced to manage on  $62,327.73 per week (though one might hope that Mr. Hemsley had the presence of mind to put a little something away the year prior when he had made $253,164.02 per week).

Today we take a brief look at how the other half lives. HealthCare Finance News reports that according to the Milliman Medical Index (MMI) the average medical bill for a typical family of four covered by an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) program rose 7.4 percent from 2008 to 2009. In actual dollars:

The total 2009 medical bill for a typical American family of four is $16,771, compared with the 2008 figure of $15,609. The $1,162 increase is the highest measured by the MMI since the 2006 increase of $1,168, when cost trends were at 9.6 percent.

The MMI found that employers are expected to pay $9,9947, or 5.4 percent more than in 2008, while employees are expected to contribute $4,004 toward their health costs, an increase of 14.7 percent, and pay $2,820 in out-of-pocket expenses, an increase of 5.4 percent.

According to Health and Human Services: “The estimated median income for a four-person family living in the United States is $70,354 for FFY 2009″ (slightly more than Mr. Hemsley’s weekly paycheck). According to the MMI, of that $70,000, nearly $7,000 in employee wage goes to healthcare expense. That’s 10 per cent or $583.33 per month. That’s more than enough to make the payment on a brand new Cadillac.

In addition, one should also note that the employers’ contribution is nearly $10,000 per year, or $833.33 per month. Together, the actual total is $16,771 or $1397.59 per month. Which is to say that the average expense for medical for a family of four is $1400.00 per month. According to the Census Bureau, the average price of a house in the U.S. in March of 2009 was $201,400.00.

According to CNNMoney.com the current average for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is 5.24% but rates are “all over the map.” We’ll use 7%. The monthly mortgage payment on $201,400 for a 30 year fixed rate at 7% is $1339.92. The average monthly medical expense amounts to $1397.59.

That’s a house. The average monthly medical expense for a family of four amounts to a house, maybe not one that Mr. Williams, Ms. Braly or Mr. Hemsley would live in, but a house nonetheless. Oh, and there’s still $57.67 left over– enough to catch the earlybird special at the Family Buffet.

Health Insurance Company CEOs Total Compensation in 2008

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”

“Who’s Looking At the Compensation of the Health Care Insurance Executives?” and “Where’s H.R. 676?”

Interesting comments from Kevin T. and Jeremiah regarding Conrad Dillon’s post the other day, “Obama to Unveil Plan for Health Care Reform.” Jeremiah is a proponent of John Conyers “single payer plan,” The United States National Health Insurance Act, H.R. 676 (you can also see the plan in the sidebar of this blog under “Health Reform Plans” and an excellent summary at Healthcare-NOW.org ).

We wrote about H.R. 676 back in December, in a post titled, “Medicare for All?” We noted then that “the plan seems to have received little mention in the media,” though it has a number of supporters–including, at the time, 94 co-sponsors, and “most labor unions, thousands of doctors, nurses and health care professionals.”

The Conyers proposal, also backed by the Physicians for a National Plan, would gradually provide Medicare for everyone who wants it and would pay a premium; it is sometimes referred to as “The Medicare for All plan.”

As Saul Friedman, columnist for Newsday, explained, the Medicare for All plan

“would absorb such programs as Medicaid, SCHIP and be paid for by taxes and premiums. It could relieve auto manufacturers and other businesses of paying for health insurance for employees and retirees. Its sponsors say it would save $300 billion a year in administrative costs, for it would deny insurance companies a role.”

And that may be the rub.

Friedman states:

“Getting over that hurdle may be why HR 676 has gotten so little publicity, even from alleged friends of older people. There is no mention of it on the Web site of AARP, which earns $700 million a year in royalties on the sale of private health insurance it sponsors.”

In an Op-Ed piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dr. Oliver Fein, associate dean and professor of clinical medicine and public health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and president of Physicians for a National Health Program wrote that

“As long as we rely on private health insurers, universal coverage will be unaffordable…. There is a cure, however. Eliminating the private insurance industry would save $400 billion annually in administrative costs, enough to ensure that everyone is covered and to eliminate all co-pays and deductibles.”

Perhaps understandably, there has not been a great deal of support voiced for the Conyers plan (or for Dr. Fein) by the Insurance Industry. The common adage concerning health care reform at present has been that “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” By all accounts, private insurers have taken a seat at the table–and the “menu” they’re protecting there would seem to readily qualify as sumptuous.

Kevin T. was kind enough to forward to us these figures concerning CEO compensation for major medical insurers. The figures for Insurance Co. profits (2007, Aetna: 1.831 Billion profit) as well as the CEO compensation figures can be found  here, courtesy of the very interesting Insurance Company Rules.org- a project of Health Care for America Now.org. The numbers were culled from the companies’ SEC filings (Schedule 14A) and are well worth a look. But I’ll list a few of the figures here as well:

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