Stephen Hemsley, CEO and president of UnitedHealth Group Inc., which has major operations in Hartford, earned $3.2 million in 2008, a decline of almost $10 million from what he received a year ago, according to a published report.
Hemsley received the same base salary of $1.3 million in 2008 that he had received in 2007, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported.
 However, he was given no stock options and less incentive pay than he received a year ago, the paper reported, citing company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 2007, Hemsley received $8.1 million in options and $3.6 million in incentive pay. Last year he received no compensation from stock options and $1.8 million incentive pay.
In 2008, UnitedHealth reported $81 billion in revenue, up 7.6 percent from 2007. Net income at the health care giant was $2.98 billion, down 36 percent from $4.65 billion in 2007.
UnitedHealth’s stock declined 54 percent during 2008, falling from $58.06 per share on December 31, 2007 to $26.60 on Dec. 31, 2008. The firm’s stock price closed Thursday at $23.16 per share.
UnitedHealth will hold its annual meeting for shareholders June 2, at 10 a.m. at the company’s Minnetonka headquarters at 9701 Data Park Drive.
UnitedHealth’s shareholders also will get a chance to approve a “say on pay” resolution that has been submitted by The Nathan Cummings Foundation, based in New York.
If approved, shareholders would gain the right at each annual meeting to vote on how much executives are paid. The company’s board of directors opposes the shareholder resolution, saying the executive compensation issue is a complex topic.
