American Medical News
May 19, 2008
The nation’s largest publicly traded health plans say they don’t plan to temper premium increases for the sake of keeping members on their rolls — particularly not while they are under pressure from Wall Street over what it sees as their disappointing earnings.
Wall Street analysts were shaken over the long-term prospects of the health plan business after bellwethers WellPoint and UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s two largest private-pay plans, reported less-than-expected profits from the first three months of this year.
…most say their risk-based commercial numbers — representing traditional employer health benefits — are declining or are not growing as quickly as anticipated. But health insurers say cutting premiums or reducing the rate of increase to keep customers would affect their bottom lines more than losing some members over premium hikes.
United CEO Stephen Hemsley told investors: “We continue to protect our margins. … We are committed to sustaining a quality business without taking shortsighted pricing positions.”
“We will not sacrifice profitability for membership,” WellPoint President and CEO Angela Braly told analysts during a conference call.
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/may/insurers_choose_betw.phpSingle-payer national health insurance is a system in which a single public or quasi-public agency organizes health financing, but delivery of care remains largely private.
Currently, the U.S. health care system is outrageously expensive, yet inadequate. Despite spending more than twice as much as the rest of the industrialized nations ($7,129 per capita), the United States performs poorly in comparison on major health indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality and immunization rates. Moreover, the other advanced nations provide comprehensive coverage to their entire populations, while the U.S. leaves 47 million completely uninsured and millions more inadequately covered.
The reason we spend more and get less than the rest of the world is because we have a patchwork system of for-profit payers. Private insurers necessarily waste health dollars on things that have nothing to do with care: overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. Doctors and hospitals must maintain costly administrative staffs to deal with the bureaucracy. Combined, this needless administration consumes one-third (31 percent) of Americans’ health dollars.
Single-payer financing is the only way to recapture this wasted money. The potential savings on paperwork, more than $350 billion per year, are enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying any more than we already do.
Under a single-payer system, all Americans would be covered for all medically necessary services, including: doctor, hospital, long-term care, mental health, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs. Patients would regain free choice of doctor and hospital, and doctors would regain autonomy over patient care.
http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_resources.php
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
