Kaiser Permanente CEO Got 16% Raise in ’97

Kaiser Permanente, the No. 1 U.S. health maintenance organization, gave its chief executive a 16% pay raise last year as the Oakland-based HMO posted a $266-million loss, its first ever. CEO David Lawrence received total compensation of $1.4 million in 1997, up from $1.2 million the previous year, according to the nonprofit organization’s annual federal regulatory filing, which the HMO released this week. Disclosure of Lawrence’s pay comes as Kaiser moves to tighten its belt in a bid to return to profitability in 1999. The company expects to report a substantial loss for 1998, after posting a $240-million loss from operations in the first three quarters of the year.