FACT CHECK: Health insurer profits not so fat

WFAA (DFW)/AP ^ | 11-25-09 | CALVIN WOODWARD

[engrpat]

Please read the rest. Can't believe the AP actually published this, Obama won't be pleased.

[raybbr]

They left out one very important fact: The government profits over 20% off of the average worker. Some much higher but some lower.

[Wolfie]

So where do the billion dollar bonuses come from?

[Canedawg]

Well over one month ago, Mark Levin cited statistics that showed the insurers were operating on a 3% profit margin, compared with 9% for the beverage industry. This isn’t really news to us, though it may be to “them”.

Cons need to do a much better job of getting their info across, but I know it’s hard when the MSM is operating as the Fifth Column, and when the GOP is in a state of confusion about what its message is.

[DavidAccord]

If profits were as “fat” as Jay Rockefeller claims, why doesn’t he start his own health insurance company, using the Rockefeller fortune, the Kennedy money, and the John Kerry Heinz money?

[mazda77]

Billion dollar bonues in the insurance industry? Care to be a bit more specific? Hmmmmmm?

[Roamin53]

i saw a figure somewhere that said 44% of health insurers are non profits like BCBS, kaiser etc. ????

[Use as Directed]

If 1/6 of our economy is related to health care/health insurance, then 2-6% is a lot of friggin money.

[Onerom99]

The majority of health insurer profits come from investments they make with premiums.

Most depend on these investments to stay in business.

[kenavi]

If 1/6 of our economy is related to health care/health insurance, then 2-6% is a lot of friggin money.

You mean that as our economy grows, companies' profit margins should grow smaller? And you have a better idea to do that than competition?

[Onerom99]

LOL. Is this a joke?

[Pride_of_the_Bluegrass]

And for the moderators who complain about sites not referencing this site I will now put this up as a reference point.

http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2009/10/figures-congressional-raises-topped-insurance-company-profits-last-year/

[MizSterious]

Oh dear. Are we now going to hear that “AP isn’t really a news wire?”

[mysterio]

Conservatives should beware of considering the health insurance industry as "us" against a government "them."

The insurance industry has invested a lot in getting a bill passed that includes a requirement for everyone to buy insurance. They stand to make a lot of money from such a requirement.

It has gone way past capitalism.

[DesScorp]

Guess you can add the AP to Obama’s enemies list.

[Wolfie]

United’s CEO Willima McGuire. Got himself caught up in an options backdating scandal and was forced to resign in ‘06...with, naturally, a golden parachute of over $1 Billion in new options.

[mazda77]

thanks

[downtownconservative]

You still have to look at margin. If an insurance company risks $3 billion to make a 2% to 3% profit, they might think about starting an airline or something where they could at least push it to around 5%.

Personally, I wouldn't invest in either. Both possess too much downside risk. And when you make insurance a “personal right”, that downside risk will get very much worse. Abuse, waste and overuse will become even more endemic.

The public option is a colossal boondoggle conceived only for its negative effect and the collectivization of the country.

[Rick_Michael]

Without real competition and chose in the industry, I’m not going take this margin as relevant. Dems are wrong, but it’s also wrong to think this is how it should be.

[magellan]

Anyone with a computer and Internet connection can find out the profit margin of any publicly traded company. You can go to Yahoo Finance and click on "Income Statement" and do the math.

I got curious and did the math on this months ago. General Electric looks like the U.S. Mint compared to United Health Group. The telling numbers are the gross margins. Revenue for UNH are basically premiums. GOGS are basically the insurance payouts. UNH's gross margin for last year at 7.7% pales compared to GE's at 54%. UNH's net profit margin for 2008 was 3.7% compared with 9.5% for GE.

Think about that one for a minute. For UNH, this is a comparison of money in to money out. How many charities have overhead of less than 10%?

These are facts which have been out there for years for the mainstream media to take a few minutes to examine and analyze. They willfully have chosen not to.

As for "immoral" profit margins, it is not the size of the margin nor the size of the actual dollars which make a profit immoral to a Democrat. The view of the Democrats is any profit whatsoever is immoral in the business of health insurance, and also in the businesses of investment banking and petroleum processing. Apparently there are no such moral restrictions on Hollywood and other "acceptable" commercial endeavors.