Its a nice job if you can get it

The Wall Street Journal's health blog reports that Larry Glasscock, Wellpoint's outgoing CEO, will get a whopping $23.9 million farewell:

If the latest proxy from Wellpoint, Inc. is any indication, all the flak
hurled at health insurance executives for hefty compensation packages hasn’t
made much of a dent in the latest round of payouts. WellPoint’s outgoing chief
executive, Larry Glasscock (pictured at left, smiling), received a compensation
package worth $23.9 million last year, according to the filing. That’s about on
par with the 2006 pay packages disclosed last month for Aetna’s current CEO Ron
Williams ($19.8 million) and his predecessor John Rowe ($25.1 million).

Mr. Glasscock’s pay includes a salary of $1.3 million, $4.2 million in stock, $11.7 in options, and another $6.7 million in assorted goodies that include perks such as using the corporate plane to attend board meetings of another public company.

Recall that Wellpoint's subsidiary, Blue Cross of California was just tagged with a $1 Million fine for illegally dropping policyholders after they became sick or pregnant. See my previous blog about it here.

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We're #11!

Rhode Island ranked as the 11th "Healthiest State"

Morgan Quitno Press has complied its annual "The Healthiest State Awards." The winner is Vermont. The loser, coming in as 50th, is Louisiana.

I can't vouch for the report, its publisher or the methodology used (the full report is for sale, not for free), but it appears to be good news.

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Have health care and health insurance issues moved closer to the top of the public agenda?

Health care/health insurance issues seem to be more prominent in the media and also appear to be more important to the public--both locally and nationally:

1. Over the last couple of weeks, health care/health insurance stories have appeared on the front page of the Projo four times, including today's article about new RI Department of Health charity care regulations.

2. A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll (release date 3/29/2007) shows that, while Iraq continues to top the public's list of issues they want the government to address, health care ranks second for all respondents, including for Democrats and Republicans separately.

3. According to a New York Times/CBS News poll from about a month ago, a majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it.

4. A recent survey sponsored by the American Society for Quality and conducted by Harris shows that health care is a pressing concern for 85 percent of U.S. adults and that rising health care costs overtake U.S. adults’ concern for other hot button issues including the war in Iraq , the rising cost of fuel and the threat of global warming.

UPDATE 4/4: Rhode Island's new low cost health plan, the Wellness Health Benefit Plan, is announced on the front page of the Projo.

UPDATE 4/9: NPR ran a news story today about the uninsured and how the issue of health insurance coverage has become the third most important issue for voters, behind the war and the economy. Listen here.

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