Top 20 Highest-Paid Healthcare CEOs

Here is a list of the top 20 highest-paid healthcare CEOs from U.S. companies with revenue of at least $4 billion in their most recent fiscal year that filed their proxy statements between Oct. 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010. Data comes from The Wall Street Journal CEO compensation study, conducted by management-consulting firm Hay Group.

1. Company: Thermo Fisher Scientific
CEO: Marc N. Casper
Total direct compensation: $33,048,200

2. Company: Boston Scientific
CEO: Raymond Elliott J. Elliott
Total direct compensation: $32,102,500

3. Company: Johnson & Johnson
CEO: William C. Weldon
Total direct compensation: $19,789,500

4. Company: Abbott Labs
CEO: Miles D. White
Total direct compensation: $18,728,200

5. Company: Bristol-Myers Squibb
CEO: James M. Cornelius
Total direct compensation: $16,682,100

6. Company: Coventry Health Care
CEO: Allen F. Wise
Total direct compensation: $16,496,500

7. Company: Lilly (Eli)
CEO: John C. Lechleiter
Total direct compensation: $16,284,400

8. Company: Aetna
CEO: Ronald A. Williams
Total direct compensation: $15,323,700

9. Company: Pfizer
CEO: Jeffrey B. Kindler
Total direct compensation: $15,122,000

10. Company: Amgen
CEO: Kevin W. Sharer
Total direct compensation: $14,554,000

11. Company: Gilead Sciences
CEO: John C. Martin
Total direct compensation: $13,531,600

12. Company: Medco Health Solutions
CEO: David B. Snow, Jr.
Total direct compensation: $13,278,800

13. Company: WellPoint
CEO: Angela F. Braly
Total direct compensation: $12,804,800

14. Company: Merck
CEO: Richard T. Clark
Total direct compensation: $11,836,900

15. Company: Universal Health Services
CEO: Alan B. Miller
Total direct compensation: $11,633,600

16. Company: Baxter
CEO: Robert L. Parkinson, Jr.
Total direct compensation: $11,609,900

17. Company: DaVita
CEO: Kent J. Thiry
Total direct compensation: $11,446,500

18. Company: Mylan
CEO: Robert J. Coury
Total direct compensation: $11,234,700

19. Company: Allergan
CEO: David E. I. Pyott
Total direct compensation: $11,127,000

20. Company: Medtronic
CEO: William A. Hawkins
Total direct compensation: $10,834,200

Read the Wall Street Journal CEO compensation study.

Read more on compensation:

-6 Steps to Determine Hospital Executive Base Salary Incentives and Benefits

-6 Ways to Determine Staff Compensation at Your Hospital

-Hospital Workers See Pay Raises, Bonuses