Health insurance companies are the whipping boys for all the corporate hatred going around nowadays. Between them and the oil companies, well, take your pick.
There are two articles discussion the health insurance companies and how they are making record profits or how they are a scam. I read both articles and cannot come to the conclusion that they are doing anything evil, but exploiting all existing laws in our economic system. Exploiting isn’t always a bad thing. It means you are thorough and aggressive.
Anyway, the record profits are easy to understand. They are for profit corporations and they are able to squeeze as much money as they can. From the NY Times article I learned:
- Profits are coming due to the fact people delay their care due to costs.
- There are underwriting cycles of boom and bust.
- People are finally becoming cost conscious on medical procedures.
From the Phil’s Stock World article I learned:
- The five largest health care insurance companies made 12.2 billion dollars in profit in 2009.
- Americans spend twice as much as other countries on healthcare.
- Wages increased only 3.8%, but premiums went up 87% between 2000 and 2006.
Does this make an effective case for health insurance companies being a scam? I don’t think so. I think it shows that we’re due for a huge shift in how medical care is provided in the United States. You cannot continue increase premiums, making record profits without your consumers catching on. There will be a tipping point, eventually.
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