Attorney General Martha Coakley will defend legislation that would require charitable organizations to gain approval from her office before offering compensation to members of their boards of directors.
Coakley’s initiative comes on the heels of a report that found that the state’s four major charitable health insurers all compensated their directors. Most charitable organizations do not compensate directors, according to the report.
Coakley said the health plans did not provide suitable rationales for compensating board members. Since then, according to Coakley, Fallon Community Health Plan of Worcester and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts have stopped compensating board members. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan have continued the practice.
If the legislation passes, any charitable organization would have to receive approval from Coakley’s office before compensating members of its board of directors.
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