Big health system, payer CEO salaries ranked

Most of the top-earning executives at some of the nation's largest for-profit healthcare organizations saw their overall compensation increase in 2023, according to proxy statements recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Editor's note: Total compensation can include salary, bonuses, stock and option awards, change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings and other compensation.

Highest-earning chief executives in 2023 among large payers and health systems:

1. UnitedHealth Group
Andrew Witty

• Salary: $1,500,000
• Stock awards: $15,000,970
• Option awards: $5,000,114
• Non-equity incentive plan: $1,800,000
• Other compensation: $233,852
• Total: $23,534,936
  • 12.8% increase from 2022 ($20,865,106)

2. Elevance Health
Gail Boudreaux

• Salary: $1,600,000
• Stock awards: $11,850,043
• Option awards: $3,950,036
• Non-equity incentive plan: $3,648,000
• Other compensation: $840,960
• Total: $21,889,039
  • 4.6% increase since 2022 ($20,931,081)

3. CVS Health
Karen Lynch

• Salary: $1,500,000
• Stock awards: $12,374,971
• Option awards: $4,124,992
• Non-equity incentive plan: $2,992,000
• Other compensation: $623,071
• Total: $21,615,034
  • 1.4% increase since 2022 ($21,317,055)
    
    

4. Molina Healthcare
Joseph Zubretsky

• Salary: $1,500,000
• Stock awards: $15,500,092
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $4,410,000
• Other compensation: $81,631
• Total: $21,491,723
  • 2.9% decrease since 2022 ($22,131,256)
    
    

5. HCA Healthcare
Sam Hazen

• Salary: $1,512,222
• Stock awards: $6,957,391
• Option awards: $7,242,825
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $5,026,128
• Other compensation: $577,418
• Total: $21,315,984
  • 45.6% increase from 2022 ($14,637,726)
    
    

6. Cigna Group
David Cordani

• Salary: $1,500,000
• Stock awards: $12,656,213
• Option awards: $3,200,020
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $3,300,000
• Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation: $80,585
• Other compensation: $310,437
• Total: $21,047,255
  • 0.4% increase since 2022 ($20,965,504)
    
    

7. Centene
Sarah London

• Salary: $1,400,000
• Stock awards: $13,573,031
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $3,298,600
• Other compensation: $285,335
• Total: $18,556,966
  • 40.1% increase since 2022 ($13,246,447)
    
    

8. Tenet Healthcare
Saum Sutaria, MD

• Salary: $1,500,000
• Stock awards: $10,130,393
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $6,300,000
• Other: $587,717
• Total: $18,518,109
  • 67.6% increase from 2022 ($11,047,128)
    
    

9. Humana
Bruce Broussard

• Salary: $1,469,893
• Stock awards: $10,898,833
• Option awards: $3,492,874
• Other compensation: $465,784
• Total: $16,327,384
  • 5.1% decrease since 2022 ($17,198,844)
    
    

10. Universal Health Services
Marc Miller

• Salary: $1,352,052
• Stock awards: $4,944,124
• Option awards: $4,944,434
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $3,042,117
• Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation: $78,003
• Other compensation: $47,207
• Total: $14,407,937
  • 31.9% increase from 2022 ($10,919,976)
    
    

11. Community Health Systems
Tim Hingtgen

• Salary: $1,287,550
• Stock awards: $3,690,000
• Option awards: $922,000
• Non-equity incentive plan compensation: $2,072,955
• Change in pension value and nonqualified deferred compensation: $347,168
• Other compensation: $28,550
• Total: $8,348,223
  • 32.5% increase from 2022 ($6,302,542)