Healthcare executives received less compensation for 1999 than for 1998, according to the Irving Levin Associates' Annual Salary Survey of top healthcare executives.
The survey shows that 1999 was a bad year for healthcare, with three high-profile bankruptcies of major nursing home chains, the near demise of the home healthcare industry and
the continued negative effect of reduced Medicare reimbursement.
"Our entire universe of long-term care provider stocks had negative returns for stockholders in 1999," says Stephen Monroe, editor of the survey. "To a limited degree, this was
reflected in the compensation of senior management."
For 20 percent of the companies surveyed, senior executives received no bonus payment. The chairman of Cigna, Wilson Taylor, was the most highly paid executive, drawing a total
monetary compensation of $7.5 million. Cigna showed a shareholder return rate of just 6 percent in 1999. Dan Baty, CEO of Emeritus Corp., received neither salary nor bonus,
according to the survey.
A sampling of other execs (monetary compensation includes salary, bonus and all other perks, excluding stock options).
- Aetna Inc. - Chairman Richard Huber was $1.75 million
- Healthsouth Corp. - Chairman Richard Scrushy was $2.98 million
- Humana - Chairman David Jones was $981,961
- Oxford Health Plans - Chairman Norman Peyson was $764,058
- Sunrise Assisted Living - Chairman Paul Klaassen was $275,000.
(Irving Levin Associates, 800/248-1668, http://www.levinassociates.com)