Salaries healthy for health insurance watchdogs
26 02 08 - 13:23
By Jessica Fargen
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A Herald review of the payroll at the state's Health Connector, the agency charged with implementing the landmark health insurance law, shows nearly half the staff pocketing six-figure salaries.
Nineteen of the 43 employees take home more than $100,000 and 10 of them top Gov. Deval Patrick's $140,000-a-year salary, according to 2008 salary records for the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority.
In 2007, the connector's high-flying salaries drew criticism from lawmakers who worried that administrative costs would soak up too much of the $25 million seed money the Legislature allocated for the ambitious plan.
Sen. Richard Moore, who is co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, said while he's concerned about costs, it would be a "mistake" to skimp on salaries.
"Given the demand for early implementation of health reform and the pressure for success, we would be making a mistake by hiring people who may lack the experience and qualifications to save a few dollars in the salary account," Moore said.
Connector Executive Director Jon Kingsdale, who left a high-paying private sector job to take the helm, tops the list at $231,750 a year, followed by Rosemarie W. Day, the chief operating officer and deputy director who earns $180,765, and Patrick M. Holland, the chief financial officer, who brings in $180,250. Ross B. Weiler, one of four employees hired this year, makes $120,000 as the director of client development and management, records show.
The first-in-the-nation law requires all Massachusetts residents to have secured health insurance by Dec. 31, 2007, or face fines. The Connector is overseen by an unpaid 10-member board.
Dick Powers, the Connector's $100,000-a-year spokesman, said the authority is within the projected staff of 45 to 50.
Statewide, the Connector has enrolled 302,000 people including 169,000 in Commonwealth Care, the subsidized plan, and 17,000 in Commonwealth Choice, which is for people with higher incomes. The rest are enrolled in MassHealth or have private insurance. There were an estimated 500,000 uninsured people in Massachusetts when the law was passed.
Powers said the Connector, which still relies in part on a $25 million appropriation, will eventually be self-funded.