Connecticut Insurance Executives Rake in $8 Million Each

By Eileen McNamara

While some industry experts decry the federal government's new health insurance mandates as too costly to consumers, executives at some of Connecticut's top insurance companies still earn multi-million dollar salaries. 

The top executives at health insurance giants United Health Group, Aetna, WellPoint, Humana and Cigna each earned more than $8 million in 2012, according to the Connecticut Health Investigative Team website, which cited earning filings the companies filed this spring with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The earnings collectively for managers at each of those five companies' management teams ranged from $21 million at Humana to $47 million at United Health. Those earnings include salaries, bonuses and other incentives and benefits, the website reports. 

One medical industry expert told the website that the compensation packages for health insurance executives is "frustrating."

“The public wants money to go to health care services,” Ken Ferrucci, senior vice president of government affairs at the Connecticut State Medical Society, told the health investigative team. “It’s very frustrating. When I have conversations with physicians, they think about services they could provide with that money.”