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Health Insurance Execs Cash In, Jack Premiums

Those heading 5 biggest companies took home $200M

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 11, 2010 7:30 AM CDT

(Newser) – As their companies slammed policyholders with double-digit rate increases, top executives at the nation's five largest insurance companies gave themselves hefty raises last year, pulling in a total of almost $200 million. Of the heads of Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group, WellPoint, and Aetna, only one took a paycut—Aetna's CEO dropped from $24.4 million to a meager $18.2 million—according to a new analysis by health care activists.

"Most families are struggling to hang on. Employers are struggling to stay in business. And these guys were giving themselves huge raises," a head of the organization that prepared the report said. A spokeswoman for WellPoint, whose California subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross planned premium hikes up to 39%, told the Los Angeles Times that executive compensation reflected efforts to improve care and meet corporate goals. Which were likely met, notes the Times—most companies have seen profit margins soar 20% so far this year, with one reporting as much as a 51% spike.

FILE - In this file photograph takne Oct. 27, 2010, the headquarters of Wellpoint is shown in downtown Indianapolis.
FILE - In this file photograph takne Oct. 27, 2010, the headquarters of Wellpoint is shown in downtown Indianapolis.   (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, file)
In this Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 photo, a sign outside the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. is shown in in Philadelphia.
In this Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 photo, a sign outside the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. is shown in in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 30 comments
Dro_Trebor
Aug 11, 2010 1:30 PM CDT
Read the source article. This headline is misleading and, well...so is the original article. A good portion of the compensation discussed here is retirement packages and has nothing to do with annual compensation, let alone a "raise" for these folks. Pretty sloppy reporting, actually. Sadly, I made the mistake of linking to this before checking the source. Egg on my face. Bad job on this one Newser. And LATimes for the original article. It's junk.
then-came-jen
Aug 11, 2010 1:09 PM CDT
If just those 5 executives would each take a $1M cut in pay, there would be enough money to - on average - employ an additional 125 workers (not including benefits) or somewhere around 70 workers (if you add in all the benefits, taxes, office needs, etc.) The company could theoretically see profits increase while still having the same monetary "output."
Snowleopard
Aug 11, 2010 12:05 PM CDT
this is why we needed a public option.

 
health insurance • executive compensation • health insurance premiums • health care reform • UnitedHealth • Humana • WellPoint • Cigna • executive bonuses

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