by Deb Cupples | A few days ago, I blogged about a report by America's Health Insurance Plans (an industry group), which contained potentially misleading, anti-reform conclusions. Even the prestigious firm that AHIP paid to do the report (Pricewaterhouse Coopers) publicly qualified its own support for the report.
In other words, the report's authors know how limited the report is. I suspect that Pricewaterhouse uttered the qualifiers to preserve its own credibility as a major firm on which big companies rely for audits and SEC reports.
Anyway, President Obama bluntly called out the AHIP (see video).
In case you don't have time to watch the video, I've pasted below some key paragraphs in the President's surprisingly impressive response -- along with some relevant data:
"This is the unsustainable path we’re on, and it’s the path the insurers want to keep us on. In fact, the insurance industry is rolling out the big guns and breaking open their massive war chest – to marshal their forces for one last fight to save the status quo. They’re filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishonest ads. They’re flooding Capitol Hill with lobbyists and campaign contributions. And they’re funding studies designed to mislead the American people. [...]
"It’s smoke and mirrors. It’s bogus. And it’s all too familiar. Every time we get close to passing reform, the insurance companies produce these phony studies as a prescription and say, “Take one of these, and call us in a decade.” Well, not this time.
"The fact is, the insurance industry is making this last-ditch effort to stop reform even as costs continue to rise and our health care dollars continue to be poured into their profits, bonuses, and administrative costs that do nothing to make us healthy – that often actually go toward figuring out how to avoid covering people. And they’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exception from our anti-trust laws, a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing."
Thanks to Think Progress for transcribing those paragraphs and featuring the issue.
Wow! Finally, President Obama agrees with me (no, I'm not implying that we have met or that he has read Buck Naked Politics).
This is a very simple issue of money coming in and going out. Every dollar that goes toward insurance-company profits or executive pay is one less dollar for us premium payers to put toward our own health care services. Period.
Recent data indicates that from 2000 to 2007, for 10 of our nation's largest health-insurance companies profits rose 428%: from $2.4 billion to $12.9 billion. (HCAN report)
Executive pay hasn't been too shabby, either (see table below for an example).
Compensation for Top 5 (or 4) Insurance Company Execs (2006-2007)
["m" is short for million]
|
2006 |
2007 |
2-year Total |
% Change |
Aetna |
. $35.7 m . |
. $40.1 m . |
$75.8 m |
+ 12.3% |
CIGNA |
$32.9 m |
$43.5 m |
$76.4 m |
n/a |
Humana |
$14.9 m |
$22.4 m | $37.3 m |
+ 50.3% |
MetLife |
$41.3 m |
$45.9 m |
$87.2 m |
+ 11.1% |
WellPoint.... |
$45.5 m |
$33.2 m |
$78.7 m |
n/a |
Totals |
$170.3 m |
$185.1 m |
$355.4 m |
|
Table Notes:
1. Data is from the companies' 2008 proxy statements.
2. Compensation figures were rounded off.
3. CIGNA's and WellPoint's 2008 proxies listed only the top 4 execs for 2006, which is why I could not calculate the increase for those two companies.
Money in and money out: as someone who pays health-insurance premiums, I can think of better ways to spend my money than enriching insurance-company execs and shareholders -- a new car or piece of jewelry would be nice.
* Public Option Needed Because Private Insurers are Robbing Us
* Health Reforms: Still More Manipulation of Polls and Media?
* Follow the Money (of Politicians who Oppose a Public-Option)
* Cash-Conscious Doctors Against Single-Payer Health Coverage
* Grayson: GOP's Health Plan = Don't Get Sick; If Sick, Die Quickly* Contractor Fraud: Driving Up Healthcare Costs?
After previously having said little despite the ongoing claims made by the insurance industry, it was good to see Obama clearly state his position on the issue. In not having done so, he was in many ways giving implicit support to their claims. At least we now know what he thinks of the information the industry representatives have presented whether or not we think he is right.
Posted by: Wellescent Health Forums | October 19, 2009 at 02:43 PM