Health Ins. Profits up 428%! 8 Double-Digit Premium Increases in 10 Years

[Watchman]

Health Ins. Profits up 428%! 8 Double-Digit Premium Increases in 10 Years

This is why we need health insurance reform and in my opinion, a public option. Healthcare in this country is a for-profit business and the sicker we are, the more they make. That's why they WANT us to stay sick and why we NEED reform in the worst way.

If a public option puts insurance companies out of business, so be it. Corporations shouldn't be making people's health into a business anyway. This is ridiculous!


From 1999 through 2008, average U.S. workers' earnings rose by a total of 34 percent -- barely above core inflation. So, if you made eight bucks an hour in 1999, you'd be making about 10 bucks and six bits now for the same work -- if you still have a job.

Now get this: During the identical period, average health insurance premiums went up 119 percent. Just since 2002, premiums have increased by 87 percent. Furrow your brow. Over the last seven years, the top 10 insurance companies' profits went up by a whopping 428 percent. Are you getting the picture?

The premium for a family of four is about $12,700 per year. Figure 52 weeks at 40 hours per week. That's $6.11 per hour you're paying -- you or your employer. The National Coalition on Health Care estimates that by 2018, absent health care reform, coverage for a family of four will hit $25,000.


Source

There is a health insurance company in Maine that has a monopoly on the health insurance business in the state. Over the past 10 years, they have had 10 premium increases, 8 of them being double digit increases and some over 20%! And now they want to raise them again, but the state said "Enough"! So, now, they're suing the state!


Anthem Health Plans of Maine, a subsidiary of WellPoint, is suing the state because they want to increase premium rates by 18.5% on their 12,000 individual insurance policy holders, so they can guarantee themselves a 3% profit margin. This story shows how silly it would be to solely rely on regulation to rein in insurance industry practices.

Like many other states, Anthem Health Plans hold a monopoly on the individual insurance market in Maine, controlling 79% of all the plans. Also like many other states, they are licensed to sell insurance through the Department of Insurance, who must clear all rate increases prior to implementation. Originally, Anthem Health Plans were a nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield corporation licensed to practice in Maine since 1939. In 1999, Anthem bought the business and began to operate it as a for-profit company. Since that point, Anthem has raised premium rates 10 times, and 8 of those times have been double-digit rate increases.

Jan-99: 20.4%
Nov-99: 15.7%
Jan-01: 23.5%
Feb-02: 12.7%
Jan-03: 3.4%
Mar-05: 14.5%
Mar-06: 16.3%
Jan-07: 16.7%
Jul-07: 1.3%
Jan-08: 12.5%


Wellpoint Sues the State of Maine to Raise Premiums 18.5%