How much profit should a health insurance company make?

Who Is Making the Biggest Profits From Health Care?

"Over the past year, “the profit margin for health insurance companies was a modest 3.4 percent,” Newman points out, quoting data provided by Morningstar, a company that rates mutual funds. Morningstar would have no reason to low-ball the insurance industry’s profits; its readers are looking for highly profitable sectors of the economy where they can invest. But the health plan industry is not one of those sectors: insurers ranks 87th out of 215 industries."

"“Among the large, for-profit health insurers” Newman adds, “profit margins line up with the industry as a whole. UnitedHealthGroup, the biggest health insurer, had a 4.1 percent profit margin over the past 12 months. WellPoint, the next biggest, had a 4 percent profit margin. Aetna, Cigna, and Humana came in below that.”

"But this isn’t to suggest that no one in our for-profit health care industry is making money. “Pharmaceutical companies have a profit margin of 16.4 percent,” Newman reports, “seventh highest of the 215 industries that Morningstar tracks.” "

Health Care: Simple Rules to Solve a Problem

(1) If Insured, a company cannot drop you if you have an illness.
(2) If Insured, a company cannot raise your rate more the average of the raise of all it's other policies.
(3) If Insured, if a company finds a mistake or false-hood a company cannot avoid paying for illness not related to mistake or falsehood. If the illness is related, then the company can refuse to pay for illness. (e.g. if you find out you have cancer, lie about it, get a policy then the company can refuse to pay for all related issues, but if you cut your finger off with a handsaw, they would have to pay for it (if it was originally covered)).

Indoctrination: New Jersey School Kids Instructed to Sing Praises to Barack Obama

If this happen under Bush, all the wackos would say Bush was trying to start a fascist nation.

Another fine example of brainwashing by the left.



if you cant make it out - here is a version with subtitles



and just for fun an example of the Hitler youth

Is Amtrak at risk?

Still Handling Homeland Security With a 9/10 Attitude

"Amtrak confirmed to me last week that the elite members of the specialized OSSSO no longer carry long-arm weapons, which played a vital role in the unit's show-of-force patrols. Government sources blame anti-gun hostility inside Amtrak for the move. Amtrak also confirmed to me that West Coast members of the rail security unit — most of whom come from Special Forces, counterterrorism and other military service — have been denied police credentials. According to OSSSO sources on both coasts, the rival Amtrak Police Department, in conjunction with the local police union in California, have stymied the process over labor issues (OSSSO members are non-union)."

"Says my rail security source: "The deciding factor is overtime, not security.""

Is this why AARP support the health care plan?

GOP Report Charges AARP Getting "Kickbacks" In Dem Health Care Bills

"Today, House Republicans have issued a report providing evidence that AARP is in a position to recieve tens of millions of dollars in "kickbacks" if Democratic health care legislation becomes law. "


"If the House Democrats health care bill becomes law, the report argues, it would be a boon to AARP, because while Medicare Advantage plans will be required to pay out 85 percent of the money collected in premiums to claims made by policy holders, the requirement would only be 65 percent for the kind of Medigap policies sold by AARP. "

Obama Admin Suppresses Free Speech

Insurers Criticize Administration 'Gag Order'

"The federal government has ordered health insurers to stop telling Medicare beneficiaries that proposed health reform legislation could hurt seniors and jeopardize their benefits."

This is contrary to the First Amendment.

"Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate's Republican leader, denounced the HHS order as an attempt to squelch free speech."

Indoctrination of Children: Story of Stuff

Tides, one of Obama's associated groups, produced this to show to school children.
This is how the extreme-left is "brain-washing" children.

She states children are targeted with 3000 per day. 3000*30 seconds per ad /60 sec per min / 60 min per hour = 25 hours per day. Umm.. This is liberal logic.



Tides

Beck on Tides

wiki

Insurance: The problem with the health care debate.

Insurance is meant to cover the unusual.

Your term life insurance, the insurance company takes some basic facts, your age and general health, figures the amount of people who will die in your category with the year and makes your premium accordingly. For example on a $100K policy if one out of 100,000 thousand die at age 35, they could charge you a dollar (plus cost, profits, etc.) If at age 55 one out of hundred die, they would need to charge $1000 (plus...). If at 99, where 99,999 out of a hundred thousand die, they would charge over $100,000 (because of costs, etc.)

When you buy car insurance, you pay an amount that takes in account accident potential (age, driving experience, where you live), theft and storm damage potential, and damage to others (medical bills, property damage). But your car insurance doesn't cover things oil changes, the gas you but in your car, washing and waxing your car, maintenance, new tires, etc.

Medical Insurance should be the same way, it should pay for the unusual, not the ordinary. Today most people don't pay for anything or pay a small co-pay or 20% of the bill. If you go to the doctor most of the cost is covered by the insurance company, so people have no incentive to do price shopping, even if they could.

What they need to do is have a doctors/hospitals have a standard price list that can be compared.

Some people think that the medical system can not be abused, who would go to hospital for cancer treatment if they didn't have cancer. see http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/04/01/0401er.html

Some would abuse the system to get attention, maybe a bed for the night or some food and drugs. If you know you can get an operation for free maybe you don't make life-style changes: drink less alcohol, quit smoking, exercise, etc. Maybe you get viagra for recreation use. Maybe when you get a headache, instead of taking two aspirins and go to bed, you go to emergency room for a CAT scan. Instead of buying a walker, you get the motorized scooter. Instead of taking the recondition pace-maker you demand only the latest and greatest.

Don't Believe the Dictionary: Obama on Taxes

Obama Goes Toe-To-Toe With Stephanopoulos On "Tax Increases"

John Stossel: Insurance Makes Healthcare Far More Expensive