Melissa Quinn – Before 11 of the 23 nonprofit insurers created under Obamacare announced they would be closing their doors, the top executives running their operations raked in large sums of money.

According to 2013 tax filings accessed through Guidestar.org, the top executives at the 11 co-ops that have announced they will be winding down operations made an average of $245,203 annually. Tax filings for 2014 are not yet publicly available.

The Affordable Care Act placed a $500,000 salary cap on co-op employees, and executives running the nonprofit insurers earned a high of $490,125—paid to Jerry Burgess, chief executive of Consumers’ Choice Health Insurance Cooperative in South Carolina—and a low of $46,524—paid to Joanne Hill of Colorado HealthOP in Colorado.

In 2014, the median income for households was $53,657.

Aaron Albright, spokesman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told The Daily Signal the co-op loans cannot be used to provide “excessive compensation.” Additionally, Albright said the Obama administration reviews top co-op officials’ employment agreements to ensure the nonprofit insurers are complying with the terms of their loans. Continue reading →