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Health Insurance Profits....Hmmmmmmmm |
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Pacman
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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Posted: Oct 26 2009 at 4:25pm |
FACT CHECK: Health insurers' profits 35th of 53By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer Calvin Woodward, Associated Press Writer Mon Oct 26, 10:06 am ET
WASHINGTON – In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making "immoral" and "obscene" returns while "the bodies pile up." But in pillorying insurers over profits, the critics are on shaky ground. Ledgers tell a different reality. Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones. Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of some of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans. Insurers are an expedient target for leaders who want a government-run plan in the marketplace. Such a public option would force private insurers to trim profits and restrain premiums to compete, the argument goes. This would "keep insurance companies honest," says President Barack Obama. The debate is loaded with intimations that insurers are less than straight, when they are not flatly accused of malfeasance. The insurers may not have helped their case by commissioning a report that looked primarily at the elements of health care legislation that might drive consumer costs up while ignoring elements aimed at bringing costs down. Few in the debate seem interested in a true balance sheet. A look at some claims, and the numbers: THE CLAIMS _"I'm very pleased that (Democratic leaders) will be talking, too, about the immoral profits being made by the insurance industry and how those profits have increased in the Bush years." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who also welcomed the attention being drawn to insurers' "obscene profits." _"Keeping the status quo may be what the insurance industry wants. Their premiums have more than doubled in the last decade and their profits have skyrocketed." Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, member of the Democratic leadership. _"Health insurance companies are willing to let the bodies pile up as long as their profits are safe." A MoveOn.org ad. THE NUMBERS: Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year, placing them 35th of 53 industries on the Fortune 500 list. As is typical, other health sectors did much better — drugs and medical products and services were both in the top 10. The railroads brought in a 12.6 percent profit margin. Leading the list: network and other communications equipment, at 20.4 percent. HealthSpring, the best performer in the health insurance industry, posted 5.4 percent. That's a less profitable margin than was achieved by the makers of Tupperware, Clorox bleach and Molson and Coors beers. The star among the health insurance companies did, however, nose out Jack in the Box restaurants, which only achieved a 4 percent margin. UnitedHealth Group, reporting third quarter results last week, saw fortunes improve. It managed a 5 percent profit margin on an 8 percent growth in revenue. Van Hollen is right that premiums have more than doubled in a decade, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study that found a 131 percent increase. But were the Bush years golden ones for health insurers? Not judging by profit margins, profit growth or returns to shareholders. The industry's overall profits grew only 8.8 percent from 2003 to 2008, and its margins year to year, from 2005 forward, never cracked 8 percent. The latest annual profit margins of a selection of products, services and industries: Tupperware Brands, 7.5 percent; Yahoo, 5.9 percent; Hershey, 6.1 percent; Clorox, 8.7 percent; Molson Coors Brewing, 8.1 percent; construction and farm machinery, 5 percent; Yum Brands (think KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), 8.5 percent. |
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Hermes
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: May 19 2009 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 1637 |
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The oil companies aren't making a profit either,at over $2.60 gallon.
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Pacman
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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So Hermes you are of the Opinion that the Insurance company's are the sole problem with the rise in cost of health Care at 2.2% profit?
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Hermes
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: May 19 2009 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 1637 |
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The insurance companies are not the "sole" problem, they are part of it though. The sole problem of high cost healthcare,gasoline,home utilities and anything else you can think of is pure old greed. The insurance company wants you to pay premiums but they don't want to have to pay anything back out for your care. A doctor spends hundreds of thousands of dollars for college because the college is greedy. (and forget about that "it cost for a good education" crap) The doctor has to charge a high price because he has student loans to pay for the next 20 years. Then you have the politicians who want nothing more than money in their pockets so thats more greed added to the situation. It's a vicious circle of greed coming at the working class poor from all directions. And because of the greed we are coming to the point of picking and choosing who lives and who dies because the politicians don't care and the insurance companies want to keep their money.
So to sum it all up the high cost blame can go to,college's,medical suppliers,insurance companies,politicians,pharmaceutical companies,some unions,and anyone else I can blame that has ties to health care.
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Pacman
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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Top industries: Most profitable
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lrisner
MUSA Citizen Joined: May 26 2009 Status: Offline Points: 330 |
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So if the Insurances Cos are not raking it in, that means poor people don't deserve a Dr when they need one?
I am of course being sarcastic, but your post are always so anti help anyone. You tell us what poor people should do for Health Care. Please, tell us. Maybe I overlooked an obvious answer to the prob. |
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Pacman
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: Jun 02 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2612 |
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irisner I am not the one pushing the agenda that Insurance Company's are making obscene profits and we need to blame them for what is wrong with the Health care system. That is your liberal government making that claim.
And on another note the two posts above came from the Associated Press and the Fortune 500 website and are not my words, but your conclusions are consistantly the same, rather than fix the problem throw more money at it.
And then gee look you have Obama making a deal with those companies that are actually raking in the big bucks in profits the Pharmaceutical companies, just as bad as the stupid mistakes Bush made with the Medicare Drug Plan and the Pharma Company's:
Obama's $80 Billion Deal with Pharma Is a Very Bad Deal for UsBy William Greider, The Nation
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Hermes
Prominent MUSA Citizen Joined: May 19 2009 Location: Middletown Status: Offline Points: 1637 |
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What Obama is doing is nothing more than smoke & mirror's. If Obama or congress wanted to truly help the American people we'd all get the same federal benefits that they all have. They won't even give vets those same benefits. DC is the good ole boys club and not a damned one of them is ever going to do anything for the people except to make life miserable. Party lines are so blurred you can't tell the difference anymore and lifers like John Boehner love it. Congress was never suppose to be a life time job with life time benefits. We can continue to vote and play the game about who gets what but in the end they win. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said we needed to have a revolution every 100 years just to clean the garbage of DC and we are long overdue.
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lrisner
MUSA Citizen Joined: May 26 2009 Status: Offline Points: 330 |
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With all due respect, none of the comments answered my question. What do we do,as a society, to enable People without financial resources to have Health Care.
My sarcastic remarks to Pacy were rooted in the constant criticism lodged against the Health Care Reform issue. Lots of "they are stupid" comments, but no real answers about what should be done. |
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