wellpoint Health ins CEO pay doubled to $13.1m; company's rates increase 31%

WellPoint executives, including CEO Angela Braly, saw pay hikes in 2009. The company said compensation for its top executives was at or below the median for comparably sized companies. (Ann Heisenfelt / Associated Press / February 24, 2010)

WellPoint Inc. revealed Friday that it boosted its chief executive's compensation 51% last year, even as the health insurance giant prepared massive rate increases in California that embroiled it in a national controversy over skyrocketing health insurance costs.

The proposed rate increases of up to 39% in individual policies turned the insurer into a flash point in the healthcare overhaul battle, breathing new life into President Obama's effort at a crucial time in the debate.

Chief Executive Angela F. Braly saw her total compensation shoot to $13.1 million, from $8.7 million a year earlier, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At least three other WellPoint executives got compensation increases of as much as 75%.

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