"Everything's fine," McCain told reporters during a news conference. "Like most Americans, I go see my doctor fairly frequently."
It's official. Americans are giving up health insurance in record numbers. The insurance industry has priced itself and its worthless product beyond the reach of all but the most affluent among us.
It's official. Healthcare in the United States of America, is a privilege not a basic human right.
Insurer Says Economy Has Dented Its Prospects
It is never a good thing if many of your customers can no longer afford what you are selling.
Mad as hell? June 19, San Francisco, massive rally against AHIP, check back for details.
Before I go any further, here's an example of what's going on.
Insurer Price Gouging
I was with a friend the other day who knows I'm something of an expert on the collapse of our healthcare system.
She suffers from occasional migraines. She takes a prescription medication (forgot which one). She just refilled the prescription, the price jumped from $60.00 to $300.00 for one refill. She called the pharmacy benefits manager to ask what the hell was going on. They explained that on January 1, her health insurer had raised the price for this drug and many others.
This type of price gouging is happening across the country to tens and hundreds of millions of us. As health insurer profits drop, they will need to squeeze every ounce of blood from us they can find.
So what's going on here?
For-profit health insurance is unsustainable
Insurance premiums have skyrocketed to unheard of levels of unaffordability, and struggling Americans are simply acknowledging that healthcare and health insurance is a luxury only available to the well-heeled like John and Cindy McCain.
The for-profit model, is officially in a dance with death.
Now I have a question. Why is it that we--you and I know the for-profit model in the United States is unsustainable, but Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama refuse to acknowledge this truism?
The UnitedHealth Group, which announced disappointing first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, said the weakening economy was causing fewer businesses and employees to sign up for its health insurance. UnitedHealth, whose stock fell sharply on the report, also cut its overall profit outlook for 2008.
. . .While he acknowledged the company’s own missteps, Mr. Hemsley said that fewer employers — particularly small businesses — were offering health coverage to their workers, and that when they did, fewer employees were choosing to enroll.
Why are fewer employees chosing to enroll?
Could it be that for-profit health insurance is unaffordable? Or far worse, that the business model is unsustainable and yes, evil.
As one of the nation’s largest insurers and the first to report earnings this period, UnitedHealth’s results have raised anxiety about the industry’s challenges. While some analysts say UnitedHealth has simply hit a trough in the industry’s normal business cycle, others are worried about more fundamental challenges to the insurance business model.
[emphasis added]
I have no horse in the presidential race. But I would suggest that the Obama and Clinton supporters ask their respective candidates why they continue to cling to a for-profit system that cannot and will not work? Clinton absolutely knows this reality and so does Obama.
In recent years, despite soaring medical costs, insurers have made big profits by keeping premiums well ahead of health care inflation. But analysts say that business strategy may be reaching its limits, with companies finding it harder to raise prices without losing substantial numbers of customers.
"The market is not growing — it’s shrinking," said Sheryl Skolnick, a health care analyst for CRT Capital Holdings in Stamford, Conn.
The market for employer-purchased coverage remains a large one, accounting for 158 million people. But Ms. Skolnick says that UnitedHealth, like many insurers, has priced its product beyond the reach of too many people and is now fighting with its competitors over a shrinking pool of customers.
So will Mr. McBush's free market work? Will competition drive down prices? Will the media ask McBush any questions about this catastrophe?
The answer to all the above is NO.
There is only one imperative for the insurance industry, to protect its declining profits.
The main issue facing UnitedHealth is how much it can protect its profits as it loses customers for its traditional health insurance. "The issue for them is growth, and where is the growth going to come from?" asked Les Funtleyder, the health care strategist for Miller Tabak & Company, who rates the stock as neutral.
So you're wondering what's going to happen to me?
This is what I believe we're all going to confront. Insurers will work even harder to hold the line on costs. This is known in the industry as the medical loss ratio. It is how much of each dollar is spent on health care. You and I are losses, and the insurer will spend as little as possible on our healthcare needs.
EYES ON MEDICAL COSTS
Shove said he would be looking for signs of stability in a key ratio that measures the percentage of premium revenue spent on medical costs.
Critical will be the ratios reported by Aetna and Cigna Corp (CI.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Shove said. They were the only two of the large health insurers to affirm their 2008 profit expectations last month, so if chinks emerge in their reports, it could spell broader problems.
"If WellPoint looks like they still have a problem with their medical loss ratio, that isn't going to surprise anybody," Shove said. "But if Aetna does, that's a change, and that's evidence that there might be weakening fundamentals across the industry."
Things are bad for another criminal health insurer, Wellpoint. And its medical/loss ratio is also up. This is bad news for the American people. Wellpoint will also be squeezing and price gouging its enrollees.
WellPoint Profit Slumps, Cuts 2008 Forecast Again
NEW YORK (Reuters) - WellPoint Inc <WLP.N> said on Wednesday first-quarter profit slumped a steeper-than-expected 25 percent on high medical costs, mainly in its Medicare plans for the elderly. The health insurer also further cut its 2008 forecast.
. . .The company's benefit expense ratio -- the percent of premiums spent on medical costs -- worsened to 85.1 percent from 83.1 percent a year ago. Most of that stemmed from costs under its Medicare plans.
Notice when healthcare expeditures increase, this is considered a worsening situation for the insurer. This is because there is a fundamental and fatal conflict between for-profit healthcare and the health needs of the American people. This is why the United States remains the only country to have this parasitic industry at the center of the healthcare system.
The rest of the civilized world knows this and so do Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
"Everything's fine," McCain told reporters during a news conference. "Like most Americans, I go see my doctor fairly frequently."
Mad as hell? June 19, San Francisco, massive rally against AHIP, check back for details.
Crossposted from Daily Kos
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Thank you for this post. I'm
Thank you for this post. I'm a chronic condition patient who can tell you that it's handled differently in the various States. In Florida I paid over $200 a month for one med alone. In New Mexico it costs me $3. That is a huge difference. Yes, I agree we need to unite on this issue. I would have died if I stayed in Florida due to lack of healthcare. It is abundant in New Mexico though. A wealthy state like Florida versus the 47th poorest state of the Union and guess which one has health care for the indigent?! New Mexico! We need to get a grip and make this kind of coverage available to those who cannot afford private practice or for profit medicine anymore.
By the way, Aetna will spend big bucks on legal fees to fight worker comp claims and deny injuries and illness rather than pay out. So, the million dollar question is what happens to on job injuries with either system. I had insurance. It did not pay for work related injury. Comp wouldn't either. So I just got lost until my bank account went empty.
I wish all you better karma.