Obscene wretched excess - healthcare exec "earns" 1.6 BILLION,yes billion

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

Actually, it's more than that. The 1.6 billion in stock options seems to be in ADDITION to his over a 100 million salary. Still believe in the American health care system? Just reading about this is actually making me nauseous.

http://www.startribune.com/535/story/377692.html

United CEO says he'll take no more stock options
William McGuire of UnitedHealth Group has accumulated $1.6 billion in stock options; now he says the company practice will end.
David Phelps, Star Tribune
Last update: April 18, 2006 – 10:57 PM

UnitedHealth Group Inc. CEO Dr. William McGuire has accumulated stock options worth an estimated $1.6 billion. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that might be enough.

(Note: I was at first able to read this story but the link mutated into a registration site for the newspaper - sorry!

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=123969
UnitedHealth Group Inc. chief William
McGuire defended his billion-dollar stock option compensation on Sunday, saying his pay has not come at the expense of affordable health care.

McGuire is chairman and CEO of the nation's second-largest managed care company. His compensation has been in the spotlight in recent weeks following disclosures that he was granted stock options dated on the best possible day during 1997, 1999, and 2000, and that he held $1.6 billion in unexercised stock options as of
the end of 2005.

The fortuitous timing of the options has raised the question of whether they were backdated. In an interview, McGuire repeatedly declined to describe how the options were awarded, saying he
doesn't want to appear to be influencing a panel of the company's non-employee directors that is looking into the issue.

http://hcrenewal.blogspot.com/2005/05/how-can-1248-million-year-ceo-make.html
How Can a $124.8 Million a Year CEO Make Health Care More Affordable?

United Health Group's mission statement is "the company directs its resources into designing products, providing services and applying technologies that improve access to health and well-being services; simply the health care experience; promote quality; and make health care more affordable." (See this fact sheet.) Rather, it seems to be directing a good chunk of its resources into salaries of top management employees. How a $124.8 million CEO salary can be reconciled with a mission to "make health care more affordable" is completely beyond me.

posted by Roy M. Poses MD at 12:42 PM

[NewJeffCT]

1. If you really want obscene

I'm in the Hartford, CT area, so I'm familiar with this story - but, when Aetna made the decision to become a health care company instead of a multi-line insurance company, their first major acquisition was US Healthcare. The CEO of US Healthcare later got a $1 billion golden parachute...

[oscar111]

2. 24 nations outlive us. We are 72nd in the health status of our population

according to

WORLD HEALTH REPORT 2000, from the WHO.

We spend one point six trillion on health yearly.

in 'ninety two, swedish docs paid twenty thou/yr, .. usa docs grabbed and average then of one hundred and twenty thousand. Lots more cash nowadays. You can rip off the desperate.

[acmejack]

3. Guess who AARP has their plan through?

That's right if you signed up for AARP's drug plan you are a client of Bill's and he say's "Sucka"! Actually he says "Thank you, Sir/Ma'am" and merely smiles and thinks "Sucka"!

[ShortnFiery]

4. It's not the docs or nurses getting rich - it's the Hospital Administrator

And HMOs that are sucking all the wealth from insurance plans. Oh! Don't forget PharMa. :P

[corporate_mike]

14. Doctors make millions as well

and some nurses make over $100K / yr in NYC

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. What magnates.

100K/yr? And in NYC, of all places? Hang 'em high, I say! Never mind the poor misunderstood CEOs!

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[charlie]

5. How would like to make $1 a second

every moment of your life? In other words, $3600 an hour, 24/7?

At that rate, you'll be nearly 51 years old before you're worth just the value of McGuire's stock. It'll take a few more years to match his salary.

[Vinca]

6. This makes me cry. What is wrong with this country

when excesses like this occur while people die every day because they can't afford health care?

[A Simple Game]

7. Just the bonus that this man receives could pay for the

insurance for well over 325000 uninsured people for a year.

Sickening, that kind of money is just a trophy, no one needs, or is worth that much.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

8. the REAL medical insurance crisis.

1.6 bill? I am not even shocked anymore.

[izzie]

9. I think the writing is on the wall for national heath care soon

This is the stealing before they all go under. They are asking for it with stuff like this going on.

[SoftUnderbelly]

10. you dont want national healthcare

im british and you dont want a national health service. you have to wait months to see a doctor and then they decline treatment if its too expensive. old people are left to rot away and we end up paying way over the odds for it through taxation.

at least thats what i read on free republic, never had that experience myself - but you cant be too careful! best to stay clear of it i suppose.

(btw - ive been to the doctors/hospital twice this year. seen on the same day both times. given full check up and sent home with an armful of pills. total cost to me at point of use - zero. even die hard tories in this country wouldnt get rid of the national health service because its fucking brilliant and EVERYONE recognises that!)

[loyalsister]

12. heh

you have to wait months to see a doctor and then they decline treatment if its too expensive.
old people are left to rot away and we end up paying way over the odds for it through taxation.

Anyone with a preexisting condition who has tried to get health care in the U.S. is aware of rationing, decline, expense, and the fact that appointments with specialists are not something that are available the same week or month sometimes.
Premiums, copays, and deductibles combined with what isn't covered are far more than what we would pay if everyone were taxed to cover a national health care program administered by the federal government.
People have a very difficult time understanding this reality, however because we live in the "greatest country in the world" and their Republican government would never lie about the inferiority of those other health care systems.

[Lars39]

11. Do you know how many people went bankrupt due to medical bills,

how many people were hounded into an early grave because of medical bills?
And this @!$#@%^%^%^% raked in over a billion?
I am so fricken tired of these amoral pieces of shyte trying to kill the rest of us off.
I wouldn't be a bit sorry if somebody went medieval on some of these goddamed sobs.
:mad: :puke: :argh: :grr: :banghead:

[faithnotgreed]

13. kick

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

15. I heard lots of comments about the Exxon guy but none about this

This one just slid totally under my radar. Anyone who wants to discuss healthcare costs should be up on this. (also kicking for the evening crowd).