First half of 2023: 7 big health insurers pulled in $683 billion in revenues – largely through taxpayer-supported programs and the pharmacy supply chain
First half of 2023: 7 big health insurers pulled in $683 billion in revenues – largely through taxpayer-supported programs and the pharmacy supply chain
Insightful and a rough commentary on the corporatization of healthcare. This is just the publicly traded health plans, their business model is being replicated by non-profit and mutual health plans too.
I'm not sure why it should not be for profit. If it's only "break even" then it won't work for very long. (And "non-profit" status is a joke that does not mean anything in this topic.) What I am sure of is that outside investors do not belong in the health industry. They gain power and control that directly or indirectly gets between care providers and their patients and they bring no ethics of health care. In fact, they bring the opposite of the ethics to health care. In their collective minds, they have no directive to "do no harm". Their influences permeate everything and somehow, within the parameters aimed only at return on investment and profit, the health care providers and their patients are simply not considered. Outside investors also have no sense of obligations to any community or population.
For clarification, I’m doubtful this is the norm for actual healthcare provision but is instead the pitiful profits of the insurance and pharmaceutical industry. Our actual healthcare system is on the verge of collapse with Dr’s, nurses, respiratory therapy, and radiology personnel both in clinics and in hospital and long term healthcare facilities bailing faster than they could ever be safely replaced. The demands with insurance denials, authorizations, pre-authorizations, re-authorizations, and the unacceptable/unnecessary/unethical delay of care and theft of precious hours of provider time daily is accelerating burn out and resignations, resulting in further destruction of this irreparable healthcare system.
Insightful and a rough commentary on the corporatization of healthcare. This is just the publicly traded health plans, their business model is being replicated by non-profit and mutual health plans too.
I’m curious as to why Wellmark BCBS financial stats are not listed here. Does anyone have that data? Thank you!
Optum pulls every trick they can to deny Flexible Spending Account payments.
Hours on the phone.
Has anyone even tried to justify why the health industry is run on a for-profit basis?
I'm not sure why it should not be for profit. If it's only "break even" then it won't work for very long. (And "non-profit" status is a joke that does not mean anything in this topic.) What I am sure of is that outside investors do not belong in the health industry. They gain power and control that directly or indirectly gets between care providers and their patients and they bring no ethics of health care. In fact, they bring the opposite of the ethics to health care. In their collective minds, they have no directive to "do no harm". Their influences permeate everything and somehow, within the parameters aimed only at return on investment and profit, the health care providers and their patients are simply not considered. Outside investors also have no sense of obligations to any community or population.
For clarification, I’m doubtful this is the norm for actual healthcare provision but is instead the pitiful profits of the insurance and pharmaceutical industry. Our actual healthcare system is on the verge of collapse with Dr’s, nurses, respiratory therapy, and radiology personnel both in clinics and in hospital and long term healthcare facilities bailing faster than they could ever be safely replaced. The demands with insurance denials, authorizations, pre-authorizations, re-authorizations, and the unacceptable/unnecessary/unethical delay of care and theft of precious hours of provider time daily is accelerating burn out and resignations, resulting in further destruction of this irreparable healthcare system.
Shareholders, AKA themselves!