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Gut Them Like Trouts

November 20, 2008, 4:06 pm

Kevin Drum is glad the Democrats are ready to body-slam the health insurance companies, and is rooting them on:

It means the health insurance industry is scared that we might actually do something in 2009 and they want to be seen as something other than completely obstructionist. That means only one thing: they've shown fear, and now it's time to bore in for the kill and gut them like trouts. Let's get to it.

Because everyone knows that most of the costs of healthcare reform can be paid for by ripping the excess profits out of the health insurance business like a liver from a fish.  Just to remind everyone, these are net profit margins reported by Google Finance for 3Q2008 of the largest health care providers and insurers:

Cigna: 3.50%
United Health Group: 4.56%
Aetna: 3.64%
WellCare:  4.08%
Amerigroup: 3.51%
Humana 2.56%
WellPoint: 5.49%

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Category: Health Care
  • Ian Random

    After looking at http://www.howobamagotelected.com/, I don't think the country has the will power.

  • Dr. T

    But, wait! According to the government, the health insurance companies' profits were all below 5.5% because they overcompensated their executives and paid dividends to stockholders. We can't have executives and stockholders making money!

    A tactic that will be used by Obama will be to regulate the private health insurers into unprofitability. When half the health insurers fail, a single federal health plan will be more palatable to the public. The federal government will prop up the totally mismanaged auto companies (with their greatly overpaid union workers), but will drive the health insurers out of business (who employ mostly non-union white collar workers). Does any see any favoratism? Oh, and who will be the biggest beneficiaries of a nationalized health system?: unionized federal employees.

  • Noumenon

    Looks like none of the comments made last time you posted those profit margins made any impression on you.