The Pueblo Chieftain reports:

Eye-popping salaries proposed for employees of the health benefits exchange being formed in Colorado grabbed the attention of Republicans and Democrats alike on Thursday.

A subcommittee of the board charged with establishing the exchange is considering a draft budget for its federal grant application that would create 24 positions and pay those employees a total of more than $3 million annually to manage the health care cooperative.

The average annual salary … would exceed $125,000 under the plan. The highest salaries would be  paid to the CEO ($200,400) and chiefs of finance, operations and communications would make $165,000 each — just $7,200 less than the White House director of communications. …

“At anybody’s first blush, these are really big salaries,” said Rep. Deb Gardner, D-Longmont.

Read the whole article: Eye-popping salaries proposed for health care exchange.

For the proposed salaries, see my previous post: Six-figure salaries for CO health benefit exchange chief officers

(Chieftain story via Complete Colorado)