UnitedHealth CEO made $101MM last year – highest paid in U.S.A.
Today I planned on having a nice, productive day working on things at home, such as my No Plan Meal Plan, among other things. But I’m finding myself rather distracted by the news, which I saw in an editorial in today’s Plain Dealer, about the UnitedHealth CEO making serious bank. More money than any other CEO in the US – $101MM to be exact, although not including stock, of course. That would make it a whole lot more. Even so, Stephen Hemsley from UnitedHealth beat out CEOs from big oil, tech firms, and even the CEO at Walt Disney.
That’s right, Stephen Hemsley tops the list of America’s highest paid CEOs of 2011 .
Meanwhile the cost of your and your family’s health care plan has more than doubled since 2001. An individual plan now costs nearly $10,000. And pretty soon, your employer is going to get sick (pun intended) of paying for it. If they haven’t already, they’re going to start transferring those costs to you – the Reuter’s report (linked above) cites a shift of 12% next year.
Who is to blame for the rising costs might just be the biggest blame game around right now. Insurance companies blame rising health care costs and a sicker population. Doctors blame law suits. Some blame health care reform (which, btw, is estimated to account for a relatively small 2-3% of the 15% rise in premium rates this year). And so on.
Almost everyone has a legitimate point to be made. But it’s VERY hard for me to feel that sorry for health insurance companies when they’re booking record profits and paying their CEOs such enormous wages.
At the same time, I really shouldn’t be that surprised. [...]