The healthcare reform debate is heating up. As you listen to the debate, its prudent to have some facts and figures at your finger tips.
Total Healthcare Spending
Total health care spending was $2.4 TRILLION in 2007, or $7900 per person. Total health care spending represented 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Insurance Company Profits
According to the AFL-CIO, profits of the 18 health insurance companies that make up the Corporate Library’s health insurance industry classification had profits of $13.5 billion in 2005 and $15.39 2006.
United Health Group is America’s largest health insurance company. UNH has 75,000 employees, insures 29.1 million Americans directly and covers up to 78 million people.
In 2008 United Health had total revenues of approximately $81.2 billion and profits of $5.2 billion from health insurance.
UNH had profits as a percent of revenues of 6.4%.
Private Administrative Costs
2005 Medical-cost ratios (i.e., the percentage of premiums paid out) for six largest health insurance companies (Source: Company 10-K):
76.9% – Aetna
82.3% – Cigna
83.9% – Health Net
83.2% – Humana
78.6% – UnitedHealth Group
80.6% – WellPoint
Average: 80.9%
Using UNH as an example, if it has a medical cost ration of 78.6% and a profit ratio of 6.4%, then that means that 15% of the premiums that it is paid get sucked up by “Administrative Costs.”
More Facts
From the Census Bureau:
Insurance Premiums paid:
2005: $685.6
2006: $723.4
Insurance Administration and Profits:
2005: $131.0
2006: $138.2
Insurance Administration:
2005: $117.5
2006: $122.8
Public administration and net cost of private health insurance:
2005: $133.6
2006: $145.4
2006 Health Care Spending:
Total: $2,106
Total Private: $1,135
Private Out-of-pocket: $257
Private Insurance: $723
Public: $970
Public Federal: $705
Public State: $265
Total Health Services and Supplies: $1,966
Hospital Care: $648
Physician and Clinical: $448
Prescription Drugs: $217
Nursing Home Care: $125
The Nation’s Health Dollar
The Nation’s Health Dollar (2007) from HHS:
Program Administration and Net Cost: 7%
Prescription Drugs: 10%
Nursing Care: 6%
Physician and Clinical: 21%
Hospital Care: 31%
Other Spending: 25%
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I think I see where you’re heading with this. I guess what I’d really ike to see as part of a health-care bill is something that promotes general healthy living, exercise programs, perhaps some sort of fitness program for kids to get kids away from computers and video games. We have to instill some sort of program that changes our eat as much of whatever you want, sit on your butt, go to the doctor and he’ll make you all better attitude. Most of us older folks have habits that are getting more difficult to break, so if you try to raise childer with attitude of fitness and healty living, i think they would continue their life that way.
I think it’s somewhat analagous to how the green culture that is far more popular among younger population than with older americans. When I go visit my parent’s, I turn off the lights in rooms not being used and I get yelled at to leave the light on anyway because they want it on. They dont care if the doors or windows are left open while the air conditioning is on. As much as I try, it doesnt seem to change my parent’s attitude. But they are pretty good about recycling.
I’m not really sure where I’m going with this. Yes, the numbers that I’ve presented lead me to the conclusion that the “insurance company profits are the problem” is totally false. It amounts to 1.4% of total private health care spending and 0.7% of total health care spending.
Private insurance administration may or may not be a problem. I’ve had a hard time finding how it compares to Medicare/Medicade administration costs.
Here’s the problem I have with your statement: In the abstract, I really, honestly don’t care if someone is fat, skinny, healthy or unhealthy. It doesn’t impact my life in any way, so why would I want to see a government program implemented which makes kids get off their butts and into the great outdoors?
The only argument that you can really make, I think, is that there is some sort of social/governmental cost to me through taxes and or higher insurance premiums. I have found no definitive studies or research which says that being fat or having an unhealthy lifestyle increases costs over the long term. In fact, I’ve seen studies which conclude that an unhealthy lifestyle is less costly in the long run because chronically unhealthy people die at a younger age.
So, leaving the medical care cost to society argument to the side for the moment, why should I care what other people put in their bodies?
I think that the obesity epidemic is a media created liberal’s wet dream. That’s not to say that I don’t believe in the existence of an “obesity epidemic.” I see it all around me. I honestly find it disgusting. The media has seized upon it because it is a sensationalistic story that every person can identify with.
I care what I put in my body. I work hard to eat right, get exercise and do a lot of reading on the best ways to accomplish my goal of having a long healthy life.
As a friend, I care what you put in your body to some extent. More accurately, I hope that you have a long healthy life that permits us both to share experiences together and to further our relationship.
There are many other people, family and friends, that I care about in the same way. I want my friends and family to live a long healthy life. Through my experiences and my studies I have learned that what you eat and how you exercise plays a large role your overall health.
I try to share these ideas and experiences. I hope that my family, my friends and anyone else who reads it takes the information to heart.
But beyond that, I don’t think I care.
I’m with Brian on this one.
I’d even take it a step further by saying that I think the Gov’t has no business telling kids how to spend their time, whether its jumping rope or spending time on the computer. I recognize that an active youth is important to a lifetime of healthy living, however, I balk at the idea that this should come from the gov’t. Slowly but surely, our society is attempting to absolve adults of all responsibility for their children, and moving that responsibility to the gov’t. Nowadays most kids spend more waking hours with a “professional caregiver” then they do with their parents. Kids in day care don’t even get summer vacation anymore (how crazy is that!?). And now the govt is going to be telling kids how to spend the limited amount of time they get at home? It makes me nervous when people are calmly calling for gov’t to get involved in our daily lives for all manner of non-governmental (as I see it) reasons. Should the gov’t make sure we eat our vegetables and brush our teeth? It would certainly promote better health, both oral and otherwise. Where does it stop? For me, I think it never should start. I recognize that good things may come from it (obesity awareness, smoking cessation campaigns, etc), but I’m willing to take the loss of those good things for a simpler, cheaper and less obtrusive gov’t. And, in the end, lots of people being overweight, only serves to make me look more athletic. 🙂
Also, here’s an interesting study I read the other day that’s somewhat relevant. I certainly found the results unexpected. Based on the limited information, I get the impression that “chubby” in japan is not quite what we have over here.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.c7aaeb7940626693fa418a1eab2291f6.81&show_article=1
I saw that study the other day too. To put it in perspective:
The average male in Japan is 5’5″ 1/8. The study concluded that they are better off weighing between 150-180 pounds than under 112 pounds.
The average female in Japan is 5’0″. The study concluded that they are better off weighing between 128-153 pounds than under 95.
After watching the Ninja Warrior marathon on G4 this weekend, I’m pretty sure there really aren’t any people with these body dimensions in Japan anyway.
Health Insurance Mandates by state.