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Article: Blue Cross CEO defends salary, perks
- Article from:
- The Billings Gazette
- Article date:
- October 18, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Billings Gazette Oct 18, 2004. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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HELENA - Counting salary, bonus and perks, Peter Babin made about $525,000 last year as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Montana Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
And that's not counting an unusually generous retirement plan that the not-for-profit health insurer offers a few select top executives.
The level of Babin's compensation package has angered some healthcare advocates.
Last week, Beth Sirr, a Helena nurse practitioner, criticized Blue Cross for paying Babin more than $500,000 last year, while 200 low-income children wait for slots in the federal-state Children's Health Insurance Program administered by Blue Cross.
"The way we, as the public, need to see ...