Congressmen Want Info On Insurers' Spending On Exec Pay, Retreats

If you thought Democrats have put health insurers in a bad light lately, just wait until the industry responds to letters from Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).

The congressmen want to know which insurance company execs are making more than $500,000 a year, all sorts of details about their compensation and how it's determined, and what the companies are spending on conferences and retreats.

Remember all the fun AIG had explaining its spending after taking billions of dollars in a federal bailout?

The Wall Street Journal reported on the letters and posted a copy of one here.

 

For context, recall that Waxman chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Stupak runs its Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

A Stupak spokesman told the Associated Press letters were sent to 52 companies. The companies' answers are due in September.

The big insurer Cigna told the Journal it hadn't received a letter but expected one. UnitedHealth told the paper the letter had arrived but didn't say how the company would respond.