Dive Brief:
- Research firm Equilar and the Associated Press released their 2016 report of highest earners large firm execs and many were unsurprisingly healthcare CEOs.
- Topping the list of execs in the healthcare field was Leonard Schleifer, head of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, with a total compensation of $47.5 million in 2015, up 13% from 2014.
- Meanwhile, results from an Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey released Thursday show compensation increased by 18% in primary care and by 11% in specialty care over the past five years.
Dive Insight:
Total CEO compensation in the analysis included base salary, bonus, and stock awards.
If Schleifer were working at $9 minimum wage in New York, where Regeneron is located, it would have taken him more than 5 million hours to earn what he made, STAT reports.
Following Schleifer is Jeffrey Leiden, CEO of Boston-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals, earning $28 million. His package actually shrank from 2014, when it topped off at $36 million.
CVS chief Larry Merlo is next, at $22,9 million, down 6% from the prior year. Rounding out the top five are Celgene’s Robert Hugin, at $22.5 million, and Johnson & Johnson’s Alex Gorsky, at $21.1 million.
Others in the top 20 healthcare company earners are Centene’s Michael Neidorff, Universal Health Services’ Alan Miller, Cigna’s David Cordani, and Aetna’s Mark Bertolini.
In 2015, primary care doctors had the highest salaries in Alaska, Wisconsin, and Arkansas, according to the MGMA survey. Those in Nevada, Maine, and Maryland earned the least.
Specialty care physicians in Wisconsin, Nevada, and Nebraska had the highest compensation, while those in Maryland, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania had the lowest.
Also, surgeons reported the highest total compensation in 2015. The highest compensated specialties were pediatric cardiovascular and neurological surgery; Mohs surgery; orthopedic spinal surgery; and neurological surgery.