Healthcare CEOs saw big paydays in pandemic's second year

The CEOs of some of the biggest hospital and health insurance companies reported total compensation of more $19 million last year.

Centene chair and CEO Michael Neidorff's compensation totaled $20.65 million in 2021. That amount includes his salary, bonus, stock and option awards, non-equity incentive compensation and other compensation. Although Mr. Neidorff, who has been on a medical leave of absence since February, earned more than $20 million last year, his compensation was down from 2020 when he earned $24.96 million. He earned $26.44 million in 2019 before the pandemic began. 

Centene ended 2021 with net earnings of $1.3 billion, down from $1.8 billion a year earlier. 

The leader of the biggest for-profit hospital chain in the U.S. also reported total compensation of more than $20 million last year. 

Samuel Hazen, who became CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare in January 2019, received total compensation of $20.64 million in 2021. That's down from a year earlier, when his compensation, including salary, incentive compensation, stock awards and pension benefits, totaled $30.4 million. 

HCA reported net income of $7.7 billion on revenues of $58.8 billion in 2021. A year earlier, the 182-hospital system reported net income of $4.4 billion on revenues of $51.5 billion. 

Total compensation for the CEOs of Cigna and Anthem exceeded $19 million last year. 

Cigna CEO David Cordani made $19.87 million in 2021. That amount includes his salary, bonus, non-equity incentive compensation, change in pension value, other compensation and stock and option awards. Mr. Cordani's total compensation was down slightly from $19.93 million in 2020 and up from the $19.3 million he earned in 2019.

Cigna posted revenues of $174.1 billion in 2021, up from $160.4 billion a year earlier. The company's net income for 2021 totaled $5.4 billion, down 36.7 percent from 2020. 

Anthem President and CEO Gail Boudreaux's total compensation was $19.35 million in 2021, up from $17.11 million in 2020 and $15.47 million in 2019. That amount includes salary, stock and option awards, non-equity incentive compensation, change in pension value and all other compensation. 

Anthem closed out 2021 with revenues of $138.6 billion, up from $121.9 billion a year earlier. Net income grew from $4.57 billion in 2020 to $6.1 billion last year. 


Copyright © 2025 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.


You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information, please review our Privacy Policy
.
 

Articles We Think You'll Like