For-profit insurance companies hate universal healthcare?

Question

Do you think the CEOs will be upset when the federal government cuts their industry a $100 billion dollar check each year?

Do you think the drug company CEOs were against government intervention when Bush similarly agreed to give them about $100 billion a year for Medicare drug benefits?

Answer 1

I work for an insurance company. However, I design and sell variable annuities with guarantees (investments, essentially). While I have studied health insurance, I won't offer myself as an authority on it. I can however offer my experience in my own field and my intuition on how legislation affects health insurance.

In my field, we are critically dependent upon tax law for competitive (sic) advantage. Further, regulations regarding capital standards and other details of how to manage our business are making it more and more difficult for smaller companies to compete. I don't know to what extent my company lobbies for these advantages (always sold to the public as protecting policy holders), but I am certain that the industry does quite a bit. At the least, we very carefully monitor changes to law.

I can tell you that health insurance is even more highly regulated. Insurance companies can not change their rates without first having the change approved by state regulators. Their other activities are similarly regulated.

My guess is that large insurance companies favor increased regulation. They are able to handle them while smaller companies stuggle to keep up. Regarding universal health care, it is essentially an artificial increase in demand. Market forces will be replaced even more by government decree. You can bet that the largest and most influential companies will be involved in the rate setting discussion. They will make plenty of money and find ways to further eliminate the most marginal (least politically connected) competition.

Some insurance companies will love universal health care. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with profit and everything to do with politically granted privilege.

Answer 2

Of course the health insurance industry will lobby vigorously against any universal non-profit healthcare system which they fear will eat into their profits and their control of much of the health delivery system. What should be borne in mind is that many Americans do not have health insurance so coverage for them would not represent a threat. Also , in some European countries, universal government healthcare does co-exist with private insurance run by for-profit companies.
The two are not in practice incompatible.

Answer 3

Well, it would actually be a benefit to the private health insurance companies and drug companies. The drug companies would get more people buying their product at a rate that's very profitable(companies do make profit off government contracts) and carries the benefit of being considered first in new government research projects. Private insurance companies benefit because public health care doesn't cover all medical issues, or not nearly enough of them. So the private insurance companies would be paid to do less than they had to previously, meaning they save money but still get paid the same. But I'm likely missing several components to this arguement, so I might be wrong.

Answer 4

Why would insurance companies want universial health care ??

Unless someone is going to pay them to insure everyone ?

They are there to make a profit, without a profit, they wouldn't be there and no one would have insurance.

You think they should volunteer to go out of business ?

That just doesn't make much sense.

Answer 5

In order for Americans to get "free health care" a few things will have to happen. 1. Other countries will have to pitch in and invest in medical research. America is almost single handedly responsible for the majority of all medical break through. This is not a brag but a simple fact that can be easily researched on the internet. Most of that cost is passed down to the American public by grants and government funding. 2. Other countries will have to invest in pharmaceutical research... Same explanation as above. Ironically the United States citizens can drive across either the northern or southern boarder and get the same medications at a mere fraction of the cost when the drug is researched, created, distributed and manufactured right here in the states. 3. We will have to stream line medical procedures and make hard choices about what will be covered and what will not which is what the countries that you named have done for a while now. Soon as we get a fair deal from the rest of the world we can have "free health care".

Answer 6

of course they hate the idea, it will cut into their profit margins by a huge amount. And the pharmetceutical companies were not unhappy, the offer Bush made actually increased their profit margin....it isn't the manufacterers that are making huge profit money on drugs, it's the drug stores that often charge more than 800% more than they paid to get the drugs to dispense. Chains like walgreen's and riteaide are gouging the public bigtime for their medications all drug stores do.

Answer 7

They hated it when they were not included, love it now since Hillary is singing their tune. Insurance companies lobbied the front runners.

Answer 8

The insurance companies are a bunch of crooks.

Answer 9

I hate the idea of UHC also, so whats your point. Do you realize the point of capitalism??? to make money.

Answer 10

they're very cool you know