CVS Health's Karen Lynch nearly doubled her compensation last year after stepping into the CEO chair, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings from the company.
CVS issued its annual proxy, where it reported nearly $20.4 million in total compensation for Lynch, who became CEO in February 2021. That includes a base salary of $1.4 million.
Lynch's compensation package included $9.7 million in stock awards and $3.2 million in option awards. She also earned $5.6 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation, according to the proxy filing.
Lynch earned $11.3 million in total compensation for 2020, when she was the president of Aetna. Lynch joined CVS Health in the company's acquisition of the insurer. Her 2020 earnings include a $1.2 million salary, $5.6 million in stock awards and $1.8 million in option awards.
The median CVS employee earned $45,010 in 2021, for a CEO pay ratio of 458:1.
Former CEO Larry Merlo earned $3.7 million from the company as he retired, including $679,167 in salary and $2.4 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation.
Merlo was one of the highest earners among major national payer CEOs in 2020, bringing in total compensation of $23 million for the year. He earned a $1.6 million salary, $4.1 million in option awards and $4.7 million in nonequity incentive plan compensation, according to the proxy.
In addition, ahead of his retirement, Merlo brought in $11.9 million in changes to pension and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings.
Payers' proxies are trickling in, and among those Fierce Healthcare has analyzed to date Lynch lands at second place in total compensation, just behind Centene CEO Michael Neidorff, who earned $20.6 million last year.