THE NATIONAL ROSTER: HEALTH NET
Headquarters:
Woodland Hills, California2007 Profits:
$194 million2007 CEO Total Compensation:
Jay M. Gellert, $3,686,230
Though smaller than the other big guys, Health Net made the news by giving large bonuses to employees for canceling policies. This practice came to light in a lawsuit filed by Patsy Bates, a hairdresser dropped by Health Net in the middle of her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
Infamous For:
“Now You See It—Now You Don’t”
The analyst responsible for canceling Bates’ contract made more than $20,000 in bonuses—a reward in part for exceeding the company’s policy cancellation goals.
“Through nearly 300 rescissions,” the Los Angeles Times reported in 2007, the analyst “ended up saving an estimated $7 million, prompting her supervisor to write: ‘[Her] successful execution of job responsibilities have been vital to the profitability’ of individual and family policies.”
Health Net had tried to squash public access to the documents, “arguing that they contained proprietary information and could embarrass the company.”
Translation:
Anything that could embarrass us is proprietary information—the public has no right to hold us accountable.
Read about other insurance companies on the national roster:
Aetna | CIGNA | Coventry | Humana | UnitedHealth | WellPoint
LATEST SCORECARD
Fifty-eight percent of primary care doctors in the U.S. report their patients often have difficulty paying for medications and care, and half of U.S. doctors spend substantial time dealing with restrictions insurance companies place on their patients’ care, according to the 2009 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey.
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Families saw their premiums for job-based health insurance rise to an average of $13,375 annually in 2009, with workers paying an average share of $3,515 and employers paying $9,860.
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