Report documents surge in health plan CEO earnings

By Julian Pecquet - 08/11/10 10:22 AM ET

The chief executives of the nation's 10 largest for-profit health insurance companies earned $228.1 million in 2009, the liberal grassroots group Health Care for America Now (HCAN) says in a new report. That represents a 167 percent increase over their compensation in 2008.

During the past decade, HCAN says, the CEOs have made almost $1 billion.

The 2009 breakdown (excluding stock-option exercises), according to an HCAN examination of Securities and Exchange Commission filings:

Aetna: $18.2 million

Amerigroup: $5.2 million

Centene: $6.1 million

CIGNA: $136.3 million (includes $111 million in retirement pay for Edward Hanway)

Coventry Health Care: $25.7 million

Health Net: $3.6 million

Humana: $6.5 million

UnitedHealth Group: $8.9 million

Universal American Group: $4.5 million

WellPoint: $13.1 million

Read the report here:

The report comes as recently departed Anthem Blue Cross CEO Leslie Margolin alleges she "needed to leave" after criticizing corporate parent WellPoint's decision to raise rates as high as 39 percent, among other disagreements. Read the Los Angeles Times story here.