WellPoint CEO earned $17M first year on the job

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WellPoint CEO Joseph Swedish earned almost $17 million during his first year on the job. His compensation package included cash, stock and perks, reported the Indianapolis Business Journal.

Swedish--who spent his pre-WellPoint career on the provider side, most recently as the president and CEO of Trinity Health--took home about $913,000 in salary, $7.9 million in company stock, $1.6 million in stock options and $2.51 million in cash bonus.

He also received $4.1 million in various perks, including about $3.8 million in compensation he would have received with Trinity Health, and nearly $79,000 in relocation expenses. What's more, WellPoint paid Swedish almost $82,000 for his legal fees incurred while negotiating his contract with the insurer.

WellPoint explained the high payouts, saying they're tied to the company's overall performance. WellPoint's operating revenue increased 16 percent last year to $70.2 billion, primarily because of its acquisition of Amerigroup, and its profit rose 5 percent to $2.59 billion.

"More than 80 percent of the overall compensation for executive officers is impacted by company performance," WellPoint spokeswoman Kirstin Binns told the IBJ.

Meanwhile, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini took home $8.26 million in total compensation last year--less than 24 percent of his $36.36 million payout in 2012, the Hartford Courant reported.

Bertolini earned almost $1 million in salary, $1.38 million in nonequity incentive pay, $4.52 million in value realized on exercising options, $1.08 million in value realized on stock vested and about $284,000 in "other compensation."

To learn more:
- read the Indianapolis Business Journal article
- see the Hartford Courant article

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