GameTavern - View Single Post - Health Insurance Profits and Increasing Costs

Professor S · 03-16-2010, 08:37 AM

We've heard a lot of claims from supporters of the Senate reform bill that the drastic increases in health care costs over the last few years have been caused by "record profits" from health care insurance companies.

The truth is that health care insurance has one of the worst profit margins out there when it comes to major industries, averaging 3.3%. (or 4.4%, I'm having trouble justifying the chart with the yahoo data)

http://biz.yahoo.com/p/522qpmd.html

This is far below the average for the health care industry as a whole (~15%). Also, other "must have" services like telecom (domestic), textiles, and food average far higher profit margins while being considered very competitively priced and affordable.

If profit margin isn't the root cause of the cost increases, what is?

03-16-2010, 08:37 AM	#1
Professor S Devourer of Worlds Professor S is offline Location: Mount Penn, PA Now Playing: Team Fortress 2, all day everyday Posts: 6,608	Health Insurance Profits and Increasing Costs We've heard a lot of claims from supporters of the Senate reform bill that the drastic increases in health care costs over the last few years have been caused by "record profits" from health care insurance companies. The truth is that health care insurance has one of the worst profit margins out there when it comes to major industries, averaging 3.3%. (or 4.4%, I'm having trouble justifying the chart with the yahoo data) http://biz.yahoo.com/p/522qpmd.html This is far below the average for the health care industry as a whole (~15%). Also, other "must have" services like telecom (domestic), textiles, and food average far higher profit margins while being considered very competitively priced and affordable. If profit margin isn't the root cause of the cost increases, what is? __________________