Wendell Potter -- Fresh Evidence That Health Insurers Value Profits Over People

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Fresh-Evidence-That-Health-by-Wendell-Potter-110801-372.html

Three of the biggest health insurers have announced quarterly earnings in the past few days. If Americans were able to eavesdrop on what executives from those firms tell their Wall Street masters every three months, they would have a better understanding of why premiums keep going up while the number of people with medical coverage keeps going down.

It only takes three words, when you get right down to it, to describe the real MO of those folks: profits over people.

CIGNA and Humana are scheduled to report earnings this week. The three companies that have already spoken -- UnitedHealth, WellPoint and Aetna -- earned a combined $2.51 billion from April through the end of June, more than analysts expected. On a per share basis, their earnings were up more than 17 percent on average compared with the second quarter of 2010.

Those results were no anomaly. The big for-profit health insurers have been blowing analysts' expectations out of the water for several quarters in a row, even as the country struggles to recover from the recession and the number of Americans without coverage -- one out of every six of us -- continues to rise.

More at the link --

[Crazy Dave]

1. Just wait until we are all forced to buy health insurance

Their profits will be up there with the oil companies.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

2. I bet they don't pay a dime of taxes on that gargantuan profit, either. n/t

[Lint Head]

3. CIGNA sold their Medicare contract to Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC.

Even though BCBS is being sued by the Department of Justice for price fixing and anti trust violations the FTC let the deal go forward without investigating. Criminals are in power and no one really gives a flying shit!

[hootinholler]

4. I would like to see what they have paid in benefits over that period as well

A $2.5 billion profit on how much in claims paid? How much did they spent in administrative costs? (employee salaries, etc.) We know from the article that the profit is up 17%, they made 17% more this year than last, and they were bitching about HCR? :rofl:

Nice quote near the end:

In the future, she promised, "We will not sacrifice profitability for membership."

This is so fucked up.

-Hoot

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. Nevermind that. I wonder how much in claims they denied. nm

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. When is someone going to start a truly non-profit PPO style insurance company? Or at least a CO-OP?