The head of Michigan Blue Cross has become one of the highest-paid corporate executives in Michigan.
It was disclosed this week that Blue Cross CEO Daniel Loepp had 19 pt 2 million dollars in total compensation last year. A Free Press analysis of Michigan Fortune 500 companies says that only Mary Barra of General Motors received more in 2017 than Loepp did last year.
Automakers pay much of their executive compensation in stock, which Blue Cross does not, as a non-profit mutual insurance company.
Loepp’s pay became a political item for Bernie Sanders, who used it as a rallying point for single-payer government health care.
Blue Cross says Loepp’s $1.5 million base salary has been the same for the past five years. A $16.2 million bonus was the result of meeting performance marks for annual and long-term goals approved by the board. And they say Loepp is a target of national recruiters because of the Blues’ strong performance.
