Last year, the highest-paid executives at 10 of the nation's largest for-profit health plans received an average compensation, including salary, bonuses, life insurance, retirement plans, and other compensation — but not unexercised stock options — of $11.7 million, with the highest-paid executive, William W. McGuire of UnitedHealth Group, making $54.1 million.
The report is from Families USA, which is critical of the compensation levels. The organization extracted its data from information that the companies submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
| Highest compensation package, exclusive of unexercised stock options | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | TITLE | COMPANY | COMPENSATION |
| William W. McGuire | CEO | UnitedHealth Group | $54,129,501 |
| Wilson H. Taylor | Retired chairman | Cigna | $24,741,578 |
| Ronald Williams | Executive VP, large group businesses | WellPoint Health Networks | $13,205,631 |
| William Donaldson | Chairman | Aetna U.S. Healthcare | $12,650,393 |
| Leonard Schaeffer | Chairman & CEO | WellPoint Health Networks | $11,127,465 |
| H. Edward Hanway | Chairman & CEO | Cigna | $9,478,634 |
| D. Mark Weinberg | Executive VP | WellPoint Health Networks | $8,957,410 |
| Richard Huber | Ex-chairman, CEO, president | Aetna U.S. Healthcare | $6,988,987 |
| William Pastore | President, Cigna HealthCare | Cigna | $6,779,028 |
| Thomas Jones | President, retirement and investment services | Cigna | $6,055,314 |
The study took a second factor into account separately: the value of unexercised stock options. Executives on this list held unexercised options worth an average of $68 million in 2000, with the top executive (again, UnitedHealth Group's McGuire) holding options valued near $358 million.
| Executives with the largest value of unexercised stock options | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NAME | TITLE | COMPANY | COMPENSATION |
| William W. McGuire | CEO | UnitedHealth Group | $357,865,646 |
| Stephen J. Hemsley | President & CEO | UnitedHealth Group | $144,928,886 |
| Norman C. Payson | Chairman & CEO | Oxford Health Plans | $115,375,414 |
| Wilson H. Taylor | Retired chairman | Cigna | $66,141,372 |
| Leonard Schaeffer | Chairman & CEO | WellPoint Health Networks | $64,610,759 |
| H. Edward Hanway | Chairman & CEO | Cigna | $43,385,939 |
| James G. Stewart | Executive VP & CEO | Cigna | $41,049,922 |
| Jeannine M. Rivet | Executive VP & CEO, Ingenix | UnitedHealth Group | $39,450,395 |
| R. Channing Wheeler | CEO, Uniprise | UnitedHealth Group | $32,506,870 |
| John W. Rowe | President & CEO | Aetna | $25,026,549 |
SOURCE: HEALTH PAY FOR HEALTH PLAN EXECUTIVES, JUNE 2001, FAMILIES USA, WASHINGTON
