Highmark CEO David Holmberg, the Six Million Dollar Man
Highmark Health President and CEO David Holmberg received $3.8 million in total compensation in 2015. He took down $2.15 in total compensation in 2014. Check my math, but that’s a 76% growth rate. So, if that rate is stable he is making $11 million this year. What if, during these troubled times, his compensation leveled off a bit? He is still bringing in at least $6 million a year.
Now Delaware Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro is holding a series of public comment sessions on whether or not Highmark’s requested health insurance rate increase are justified.
Let’s hope the CEO compensation comes up in those meetings. How much more money does David Holmberg need? How much more do Delawareans have to pay to keep David Holmberg in the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed?
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Now is a good time to recall how Beau Biden begged the General Assembly to not approve the Highmark/BCBS merger.
We need to also remember that Karen Weldin Stewart, along with legislative henchpersons Patti Blevins and Bryon ‘There’s nothing I can do’ Short, did Highmark’s bidding.
Healthcare, and healthcare insurance in particular, are a racket and a very profitable one at that. Mega million CEO’s are a symptom of the problem, corrupt and paid off politicians are another. A large majority of Americans want either Medicare for all or single payer, good luck as “our” politicians are clearly owned by the vested interests. Just like usual.
I like that Navarro is opening up this process. I just hope it isn’t some John Carney style charade.
Of course it’s a charade. How many people do you think are going to say, “Yes, raise my rates, please.”
Good point. They are asking for a 33% increase? Something like that. Where is Navarro on that?
Here is the comment I left on the web site set up for public comments by Navarro.
Highmark Health President and CEO David Holmberg received $2.15 in total compensation in 2014 and that grew to $3.8 million 2015. His take home is growing at a rate of 76% per year, so it is little wonder that Holmberg needs to support that growth rate on the backs of hard working Delawareans. My question is: How much money does Holmberg really need to make? Does he need a new house in the Virgin Islands more than Delawareans need affordable health insurance?
Here is a link to the public comment page:
http://insurance.delaware.gov/public-comment/
Nice sentiment, but it has no effect, because the insurance commissioner operates under a fixed set of guidelines. The CEO’s compensation is a PR blemish but Navarro can’t say, “Cut his pay or no rate increase.”
Soon you will catch on that you have elected a new deck chair, except deck chairs are smarter, on a Titanic far larger than Delaware……. but hey Mitch cashed in 🙂
Yeah, better to have a KWS, who sold out for the merger.
To be fair, I think it was incompetence, not corruption.
Whatever it was, it was a disaster.
You liberals want to steal every penny from every single entrepreneur- while the state doles out no showjobs to various union officials – but since they are only stealing a 100k-200k at a time – I guess it’s ok…
Take everything from those that do well- and your left with everyone doing poorly…
Glad Beau is dead – another commie that tried to shake the capitalist tree for his own pocket…
Class act.
If it was workers looking for a living wage, the republicans would be screaming foul
Everyone knows that the main problem with society is that poor people have too much money, and rich people don’t have enough.
What I find more indicative of the conservative brain-dead condition is that he brought this complaint here. This site exposes Democratic wrongdoing every day, probably more so than any other news outlet in the state (along with Blue Delaware). He wouldn’t even know about Tiny Tony if it weren’t for El Som.
Beyond that, where’s the evidence that Republicans wouldn’t steal just as much? They did last time they were running the state. Ask Kermit Justice.
Ahhh Kerm the worm:) He was my summer job boss in ’70 at a Chemical Plant down off Terminal Ave where the nicest chemical stored on the site was arsenic. Tiny Tony could not hold a candle to Tom Sharp who once publicly and loudly kicked me out of the Senate Caucus room. I was honored. But I digress can we bring this discussion back to vilifying the former IC and the canonization of the shlub that’s there now and Mitch the ultimate grifter?
@G: Tom Sharp was the vilest human I’ve ever met personally. And that’s including Tom Capano.
Alby, I did business with both. Tom lived up to his contracts as did the other family members from both branches (mostly an sometimes with prodding) they just created the need for a shower after an interaction. Sharp was pure evil.
We are in complete agreement then. I didn’t know either one really, just met them, but I didn’t need any more contact than that.
Is Sharp’s son still a river pilot?
Sharp wasn’t even the vilest senator I came in contact with. That honor goes to Jake ‘The Snake’ Zimmerman. Treated the per diem employees, in particular, like shit. Except for the then-Secretary of the Senate, with whom he was having an affair.
To his credit, Sharp recognized the corruption of that relationship, and got Bernard Brady installed in that SOS position. Brady is one of the finest public servants I’ve ever known. Sharp wasn’t ALL bad, just mostly bad.
FWIW, Gymrat’s being thrown out of the Caucus Room means nothing to me. Only time that we were ever invited into caucus was when we worked on redistricting, something Gymrat never touched. Only caucus members were allowed in caucus.
Let me be clear the caucus room was not always in use for caucuses. He got angry and kicked me out at a time when there was not an actual caucus happening.
@El Som: That’s like saying he deserves credit for keeping Abelman off the Superior Court all those years. He didn’t do it because some people thought she didn’t deserve the promotion. He did it because she ruled against his son in a custody case.
Like I said, he wasn’t all bad, just mostly bad.
Don’t know if you ever met Jake the Snake, but I think you would have found him to be even more repulsive than Sharp.
Low bar, I know.
I would nominate Rich Collins as the worst person in DE.
I knew Jake I will endorse him for same class of evil. The difference between Rich Collins and these guys is he has no real power and may it stay that way. I did not know the Ableman story but it rings of Karma to me because of the way she coldly dishonored Nardy.
Never heard of Senator Jake. Saint Jake – https://www.facebook.com/Senator-Jake-Zimmerman-282390118450059/?rc=p