I never wonder becasue its always cheaper than pay as you go.

Maybe you missed it Dave, but the article clearly says:
"Aetna said the profit boost was "largely the result of higher commercial underwriting margins driven by management actions to appropriately price the business," along with lower health care use. Aetna had struggled through 2009 with medical costs that climbed higher than the company expected when it set prices for that year. Company leaders said then that they repriced a significant portion of Aetna's commercial insurance business."

And...

"The Hartford, Conn., company also said its fourth-quarter net income rose 30 percent due in part to better pricing and a slowdown in health care use that also has helped its competitors in the last few months of 2010."

God forbid a corporation makes a profit!!!

Yep those health insurers all all good guys. Kinda like the big banks. Why not pay the CEO of a helath insurance company $100 million a year? Whats wrong with a little profit?

Little guys can't afford health insurance. So what?

Your monicker is alarmingly accurate.

It might have to do more about the Pharma lobby and how they protect themselves in the beltway than just the insurance companies and their profits. I would agree that insurance companies do play a part in the mess.

I think the issue isn't just with the insurance companies Dave, I think you need to look at the special deals that get cut (Nebraska's medicaid windfall), the power the Pharma lobby has over congress as a whole, and most notably Congress itself.

I'm not picking on the right or left on this issue, as there are examples of power brokering and deals made by folks all around Washington that have a huge negative impact to the consumer, and only benefit Pharma and the politicians who support Pharma.

The little guys that can't afford insurance usually qualify for a government program of some type. Higher deductible plans are usually pretty affordable.

Some of the main reasons health insurance is so expensive are malpractice insurance, and the cost of indigents using the ED as a primary doctor. Those who don't pay have that burden thrust upon those who do pay, the insurance companies.

So I assume by your comment, nobody deserves to earn 100 million?

Tort reform would certainly help to keep malpractice costs down. I have banked a few docs, and to see what OBGYN's pay for malpractice insurance is staggering.

Then again, who controls tort reform? Congress. Who benefits from the trial lawyers lobby? Congress.

"The little guys that can't afford insurance usually qualify for a government program of some type."


Absolutly not true! I worked in the welfare arena for years and can tell you that comment is just plain wrong.

There are millions of Americans that have no health care program.

As for the "cheap" high deductible plans, one of our regular posters is self insured as he has always been self employed. Before he became eligible for Medicare he had a hell of a time getting any insurance due to a heart problem. You know the old pre existing condition issue. He finaly got a very high deductibel plan for a bit more then $1,100 a month. Given that his income at the time was about $3,000 a month, I wouldn't call that "cheap"

As is so often the case you have no idea wht you are talking about.

I Googled "Americans without health insurance" This is the frist two paragraphs of the first hit. Took about 10 seconds.

My sense is that the insurance companies saw the opportunity to raise premiums and blame someone else (Obama) for it. So they did. And their profits are up.

The only way I can imagine our health care use would actually go down would be to have (gasp) rationing, or (double gasp) death panels. Which we all know are evil.

Hank, I average about 1000 posts per year...you're running at about 1500...I'm ahead, but you're gaining

Fish on...

Todd

That site is an eye-opener. It's is amazing how much the various lobbyist spend to get our representatives to act in ways that are not in our best interest. One thing that seems out of whack is that all the data I saw indicated a good bit more spent on Dems than Rebubs but in another page on that site I saw this.

“And the Republican outside spending advantage is even more pronounced: Republican-aligned and conservative groups so far this election season have spent $2.12 for every $1 that Democratic-aligned and liberal groups have spent, according to the Center’s analysis.”

I don’t know how that can be when all the breakdowns I see show more paid to Ds?

Not all the money is spent to line politicos' pockets...

Fish on...

Todd

Fuk it. Part of our economy is having poor people live in, well, poverty so they struggle to pay medical bills, credit card bills, Wal-Mart bills, etc. Meanwhile, Joe Blow with a $125k income pays $350k for an open heart surgery and can't afford it.

All of this happens while peasants in Thailand pay for great health care at a fraction that we do. My brother's wife just got a C-section paid in cash from doctors who are just as good if not better than American doctors. My brother has no health insurance.

Why?

Profits.

Insurance companies and pharm companies make BIG dollars and I can't emphasize BIG.

God forbid socialized health care. As if things weren't already socially subsidized in this country: medicare, medicaid, commercial fishing, and of course the cherry on the cake -- industrial farming.

Good one Hankster. Got any ideas for making health care less expensive in this country?

Sg

That's never stopped you before...

I'd start with those X-Ray Techs...hell, I can use a polaroid camera, what's the fuckin difference?

Fish on...

Todd

Dumbass...I wouldn't use a Polaroid to take X-Rays...but how much more complicated can an X-Ray machine be? I mean, really...point and shoot, right?

Fish on...

Todd

P.S. I have digital cameras of my own

Hank, when you and the rest of your greatest generation die off, we're going to be a lot better off.

Pointing to one side or the other is disingenuous. They're all assholes. Some are my assholes, some are your assholes, but they are still all assholes.

We are so screwed as long as we allow this crap to continue. I'd love to see a major shake-up occur here, just as it is happening in Egypt. Talk about corruption, they have nothing on us.

Just make sure you call before you head over. 126 yards is a long run when you aren't invited.

MILITIA!

Yeah, like I said...point and shoot

Fish on...

Todd