HMO Executive Earnings Are the Subject of Criticism--37 Execs Paid $277 Million in 2007

I have had two different emails today on the subject of health plan executive compensation.

The first cited a link to an article in the Baltimore Sun that reports the $17.65 million severance settlement with the former CEO of CareFirst (Maryland Blue Cross) is under scrutiny by the State of Maryland.

The second was a reference to an Industry Radar post that compares HMO executive compensation from the six biggest publicly traded health plans to what the federal government pays our leaders. They have also juxtaposed a long list of disputes these health plans are currently engaged in with customers, investors, and other providers in the column to the right of their salary chart.

Taken together, these six health plans paid 37 executives three times what the top 562 leaders in the federal government (executive, judicial, and legislative) received.

I am not sure whether I should be angry or jealous.