The Wall Street Journal published its analysis of 2017 pay for S&P 500 chiefs, listing compensation for UnitedHealth's David Wichmann, Aetna's Mark Bertolini and other notable healthcare industry CEOs.
Envision Healthcare's Christopher Holden was among the CEOs of companies with the lowest shareholder returns and had a 66.3 percent pay decrease from 2016 to 2017.
Mr. Holden's 2016 pay was higher than usual because of a one-time equity award made by the board of one of the firms that merged in December 2016 to form Envision Healthcare, the company told WSJ.
Here are compensation stats and rankings for 20 notable CEOs in the healthcare sector.
1. Christopher A. Holden, Envision Healthcare
Total pay: $7.3M (2017)
Pay rank: 377 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: -45 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $52,228
Median pay ratio: 140 to 1
2. R. Milton Johnson, HCA Healthcare
Total pay: $17.3M (2017)
Pay rank: 99 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +19 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $55,354
Median pay ratio: 312 to 1
3. David S. Wichmann, UnitedHealth Group
Total pay: $17.4M (2017)
Pay rank: 97 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +40 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $58,378
Median pay ratio: 298 to 1
4. John H. Hammergren, McKesson
Total pay: $20.1M (2016)
Pay rank: 4 out of 47 companies in 2016
Company performance: -5.1 percent shareholder return (2016)
Median employee pay: Not available
Median pay ratio: Not available
5. Kevin A. Lobo, Stryker
Total pay: $14M (2017)
Pay rank: 170 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +31 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $66,901
Median pay ratio: 209 to 1
6. Kent J. Thiry, DaVita
Total pay: $15.3M (2017)
Pay rank: 138 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +13 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $60,332
Median pay ratio: 254 to 1
7. Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson
Total pay: $29.8M (2017)
Pay rank: 16 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +24 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $66,000
Median pay ratio: 452 to 1
8. Daniel P. Florin, Zimmer Biomet
Total pay: $4.9M (2017)
Pay rank: 427 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +18 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $61,496
Median pay ratio: 87.7 to 1
9. Omar Ishrak, Medtronic
Total pay: $15.7M (2016)
Pay rank: 12 out of 47 companies in 2016
Company performance: +7.2 percent shareholder return (2016)
Median employee pay: Not available
Median pay ratio: Not available
10. George S. Barrett, Cardinal Health
Total pay: $11M (2016)
Pay rank: 25 out of 47 companies in 2016
Company performance: +2.2 percent shareholder return (2016)
Median employee pay: Not available
Median pay ratio: Not available
11. Brenton L. Saunders, Allergan
Total pay: $32.8M (2017)
Pay rank: 11 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: -21 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $94,064
Median pay ratio: 187 to 1
12. Leonard S. Schleifer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Total pay: $26.5M (2017)
Pay rank: 26 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +2.4 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $123,418
Median pay ratio: 215 to 1
13. Stanley M. Bergman, Henry Schein
Total pay: $7.2M (2017)
Pay rank: 380 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: -7.9 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $71,304
Median pay ratio: 101 to 1
14. Gary S. Guthart, Intuitive Surgical
Total pay: $5.1M (2017)
Pay rank: 422 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +73 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $157,491
Median pay ratio: 32.1 to 1
15. Bruce D. Broussard, Humana
Total pay: $19.8M (2017)
Pay rank: 61 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +23 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $57,385
Median pay ratio: 344 to 1
16. Joseph R. Swedish, Anthem
Total pay: $18.6M (2017)
Pay rank: 83 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +59 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $70,867
Median pay ratio: 262 to 1
17. David M. Cordani, Cigna
Total pay: $17.6M (2017)
Pay rank: 92 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +52 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $63,010
Median pay ratio: 279 to 1
18. Gregory C. Case, Aon
Total pay: $14.6M (2017)
Pay rank: 156 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +21 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $67,492
Median pay ratio: 217 to 1
19. Mark T. Bertolini, Aetna
Total pay: $18.8M (2017)
Pay rank: 78 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: +47 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $79,720
Median pay ratio: 235 to 1
20. Larry J. Merlo, CVS Health
Total pay: $12.3M (2017)
Pay rank: 221 out of 456 companies in 2017
Company performance: -5.7 percent shareholder return (2017)
Median employee pay: $38,372
Median pay ratio: 320 to 1