Taking a beating. Healthcare execs see stock holdings, company portfolios nosedive.

The pounding that healthcare companies have taken on Wall Street is getting personal for their CEOs, whose holdings at their respective companies are down more than $180 million in value this year. "The key driver of incentives is stock holding. That's where the action is," says Wayne Guay, left, of the Wharton School. Boards may want to consider increasing their CEOs' relative weighting to equity compensation, he says.

Strong performance. Healthcare executives reaped big rewards in 2010, with returning hospital CEOs seeing a 58.2% gain in compensation.

Healthcare CEOs saw their compensation slip relative to other industries but still earned big paydays last year. "2010 was a great year for corporate earnings and stock performance," says Steve Kaplan, left, a professor of finance and entrepreneurship. "Part of the reason for the increase in pay is that the CEOs delivered in 2010."

Coalition building. Kentucky's biggest providers have chosen sides as two partnerships are formed to compete regionally.

Big things are happening in Kentucky, where the state's two academic medical centers are taking separate paths to build regional organizations and partnerships to deliver care. "In a fundamental way, they are trying to understand how to look to the future. Larger, broader networks and geographic span are going to be important," says Dr. Michael Karpf, left, of the University of Kentucky.