Why do you always say that when someone doesn't reply quick enough? I was up in the mountains in the snow most of the day.
First, record profits is not exactly correct. When Obama said that only one company had reported their earnings yet he made the statement anyway. They weren't hurting, but a healthy bottom line for any company, in any industry doesn't mean the people are getting gouged.
Health insurance companies are regulated by the states. They must use 80% of premiums on health claims. That leaves 20% for administration, leases and commisions for those that bring them business. When the actuarials set the rates they go to the commisioner whom
MUST APPROVE them or they don't stand. The government has the final say if the rates are fair, not the carrier. If the rates are suspect, the
GOVERMENTS ACTUARIALS do their own forensic accounting to protect the citizens.
The problem is the uninsured and the cost of good healthcare. Obamacare is trying to solve the first problem by mandating that people have coverage but that won't work as written because of the potential constitutional ramifications and the penalty for not having insurance is too low.
My baby girl needed to have a small cyst removed from her lip. Because she was onlt 1 they had to put her under. By the time I handed her to the docter until the time she woke up was maybe 15 minutes. The hospital billed me $6250 for the service. The insurance company paid $3250 towards the bill and I had to pay the remaining $3000 because I have a high deductible health plan. The point is the
HOSPITAL is the one that charged me, not the insurance company.
I pay $700/ month for my family coverage. $700 X 12 is $8400 per year which means a 5 minute surgery with a 15 minute recovery cost my insurance carrier 40% of the premiums collected. Not to mention our prescriptions, doctors visits etc...
If the solution to the problem was easy this would have been solved a long time ago.
Heres an article about insurance company profits.
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/ins...aking-records/