Health Coverage Without Profits -- Is It the Answer?

Well, they finally came out and just admitted it; they’re in it for the money and don’t give a damn about subscribers.

I’m talking about the health insurance companies.

Not that we didn’t already know that insurance companies are more concerned about the bottom line than the people who pay the premiums, but I guess I was shocked to see a CEO actually say it out loud.

“We will not sacrifice profitability for membership,” said Angela Braly, WellPoint president and CEO, who was quoted in the May 19 edition of the American Medical News. (WellPoint is the largest private-pay plan in the country.)

Braly, who took the helm in early 2007, most likely will never have to worry about health insurance. Whether she does well by the company or not, she’s still in the money. Her salary alone is $1.1 million, and she’s eligible for generous bonuses. (Her predecessor earned $5.2 million plus $3.1 million in stock awards.)

Braly’s job is to care about nothing other than making money for stockholders—which, of course, means the company will raise premiums, refuse to pay for certain procedures and drop people from the plan.

I have no crystal ball, but these maneuvers have been faithfully and regularly executed by insurance companies for years. The reason for little mystery about WellPoint’s future actions can be found in its 2008 first-quarter report. The company’s net income was $588 million compared to $783 million for the first quarter of 2007.

All of this begs a very basic question: Should health insurance/health care be a for-profit industry?

As long as both are businesses, our premiums will continue to climb, covered services will decrease and more people will be dropped from the rolls.

I know health care is expensive and everyone can’t have everything and shouldn’t have everything. I know that nurses, doctors, dentists and all allied health care professionals must be paid, as well as hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, etc. I’m not implying that these people and institutions should operate like charitable organizations. But I think we can provide a pretty decent level of health care and pay providers what they deserve for a lot less than we’re spending now if we don’t have to worry about paying profits and dividends.

And here’s a final thought: You may not realize it, but you pay for health insurance many times over every year. You pay for it every time you:

• buy homeowners insurance
• buy car insurance
• pay the fees to let your kids play soccer or baseball or join gymnastics
• pay your liability insurance premiums for your business
• pay for workman’s comp
• pay your taxes that cover liability for government-owned facilities like playgrounds, pools, roads and buildings
• buy products made by a company that provides health insurance for its employees
• buy tickets for a movie, airplane, train …

Well, I could go on and on.

If we had some sort of universal, no-fault health insurance, we wouldn’t need to duplicate coverage again and again.

What do you think?