UnitedHealth's Stephen Hemsley earned nearly $9 million in 2009, big pay increase over 2008

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The executive compensation of UnitedHealth Group President Stephen Hemsley shot up to $8.9 million last year, up from $3.24 million in 2008, according to the health insurer's latest proxy statement.

Restricted shares and stock appreciation rights comprised the bulk of Hemsley's 2009 compensation package. He received $4.1 million in restricted and performance-based stocks, as well as $1.4 million in stock appreciation rights. Hemsley's non-equity incentive plan compensation improved from $1.8 million in 2008 to $1.95 million in 2009, but was still significantly lower than the $3.6 million he received in 2007.

His base salary of $1.3 million has remained the same since 2007.

Hemsley's compensation package ranks well below the $18 million-plus earned by Aetna's Ron Williams and the $13.1 million earned by WellPoint's Angela Braly. However, Hemsley's compensation was more than the $6.6 million earned by Cigna's David Cordani and the $6.5 million earned by Humana's Michael McCallister.

For more information:
- check out UnitedHealth's proxy statement (page 47)

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