Sick For Profit: Check Out The OBSCENE Amounts Of Money Health Insurance CEOs Earn

[Turborama]

http://sickforprofit.com/ceos/">This is what the ignorant, brainwashed puppets who're storming the town halls are protecting...

What does UnitedHealthcare CEO Stephen Hemsley have to lose if Congress passes real healthcare reform this year? Well, for starters, his nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in unexercised stock options might lose a few pennies on the dollar.

What does Isabella, a four year-old girl in Winsconsin who is physically incapable of eating and has had to be tube fed her entire life, have to gain from healthcare reform? The treatment she needs to live a normal life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKI9be55N00">Video

UnitedHealth CEO

Stephen J. Hemsley

2007 Compensation
$13.2 million

2008 Compensation (http://people.forbes.com/profile/stephen-j-hemsley/82872">Forbes)
$3,241,042

Former Managing Partner and CFO of Arthur Andersen (http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=200985&ric=UNH">BusinessWeek)

Total Value of Unexercised Stock Options (http://people.forbes.com/profile/stephen-j-hemsley/82872">Forbes)
$744,232,068

2009 Options Exercise
$127,001,281

Value of Wayzata, Minnesota Home (Hennepin County Assessor)
$6,640,000

Articles:
Hemsley returns $190 million in stock options acquired as a result of practices found to be fraudulent by the SEC (http://sickforprofit.com/ceos">American Medical News)

CIGNA CEO

Edward Hanway

Five-Year Compensation, as of April 30, 2008 (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/12/lead_bestbosses08_H-Edward-Hanway_0BHA.html">Forbes)
$120.51 million

Total Value of Unexercised Stock Options (http://people.forbes.com/profile/h-edward-hanway/19431">Forbes)
$28,881,000

Value of New Jersey Beach Home (Cape May County Assessor)
$13,607,400

Articles:
The family of a 17-year-old girl who died hours after CIGNA reversed a decision and said it would pay for a liver transplant plans to sue the company, their attorney said Friday.

Hundreds of entertainment industry workers in California and New Jersey who buy health insurance as a group are being hit with a rate increase that will raise some family-plan premiums to more than $44,000 a year.

Humana CEO

Michael McCallister

2007 Compensation
$10.3 million

2008 Compensation (http://people.forbes.com/profile/michael-b-mccallister/42046">Forbes)
$1,017,308

Five-Year Compensation Total (Forbes)
$15.1 million

Total Value of Unexercised Stock Options (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/12/AG0Q.html">Forbes)
$60,865,194

2006 Options Exercise (http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1193509.htm">SECForm4)
$22,294,710

Value of Park City, Utah Home (County Assessor)
$6,978,380

Articles:
Humana abandons senior citizens in Florida, returns after Republicans pass new Medicare law, upping HMO payments by ~ 25% (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/09/business/hmo-s-return-for-a-piece-of-medicare-pie.html">NY Times)

More: http://sickforprofit.com/ceos/

[NoSheep]

1. My head IS COMING OFF. I despised the crimes of the Bush administration

but at least they were doing it for the money. There was a REASON. These crazy, ignorant fools parroting what corporate interests tell them are just making me crazy!

:banghead:

[Frustratedlady]

2. Thank you for posting this. I asked awhile back if there was a place to find those salaries...

I think it is terribly important that they be published for the country to see.

How could anyone defend those salaries? No one is worth that kind of money.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

72. NO ONE IS WORTH THESE AMOUNTS

[Turborama]

73. You got that right!

[TreasonousBastard]

3. And if any of these guys had a good fastball or..

a hit movie they could have made some real money. And even they aren't at the top.

Do I hear any the complaints about Tiger Woods making $117 million last year? For playing a game? Doesn't cost you anything? How much does it ad to the cost of a Buick, or how much did Michael Jordan's name add to the price of a pair of sneakers?

Sure CEOs make too much money, and European and Japanese companies are quite successful without the huge salaries so the argument that you have to pay that much for competance is bogus.

But, how much is a CEO actually worth? Anyone want to put a dollar amount on that? Anyone want to explain how you got to that dollar amount? It does cost SOMETHNG to get someone capable of running a multibillion dollar operation with hundreds of thousands of employees. How much?

And if we saved a couple hundred million in huge salaries, how much does that really mean in a $2 trillion economic segment? It's under 1%, so even though it's a large number by itself, it gets lost in the billions of miscellaneous money spent.

[slipslidingaway]

5. Insurance companies do nothing to provide care, they just take

profits for investors.

Nobody dies because they pay more for a car - false comparisons.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. They administer payments for...

Medicare, Tricare, and Medicaid. And Cigna, for one, does much more than health insurance.

While nobody likes the way they do it, the administering of claims and payments is still a necessary function and no one has yet found a better way than insurance company claims departments, which why Medicare contracts out claims services instead of hiring and training their own people. There are alternatives, including just paying everything out of your own pocket or the insurer/agency just paying every bill that comes in without review. Neither, I'm guessing, would work very well.

The point is universal affordable health care, not coming up with slogans, demons, and buzzwords few actually understand. Fee for service has to be reduced or eliminated, the costs of diagnostics and treatments have to be reduced, the public has its own responsibilities for some of its own care, and both the public and private sectors have some place at the table to finance whatever we end up doing.

[slipslidingaway]

12. Exactly, they only adminster payments, they do nothing to provide

care and at the same time have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to maximize profits by denying care.

Even Obama says single-payer is the best system.

[TreasonousBastard]

21. But they would still exist under single payer, so..

what's the point?

Anyone who writes you a check has a fiduciary responsibility to assure that there's no overpayment. Your beef with these companies is that you are under the impression, rightly or wrongly, that they are taking this to the extreme denying necessary care and being criminally irresponsible. That would happen at times under any system, so the better approach may not be to throw everything out, but fix what we have.

[Turborama]

17. Watch the video for some perspective on why this is so immoral (link at the top)

Check out http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x349255">this one too for even more in depth perspective on why this is so wrong.

[TreasonousBastard]

20. I'm on dialup, so I don't do video..

what's it say?

And what, specifically, is immoral? Administering claims? Universal, affordable health care?

[Turborama]

27. Have a read of this, then...

Denied Claims Placed At Health Insurance CEO's Doorstep

A new video puts denied health insurance claims on United Health Care CEO Stephen Hemsley's doorstep.

The video, made by Brave News Films' Robert Greenwald, intercuts stories of people suffering because of denied claims with images Hemsley's fancy homes, along with details about how much money Hemsley's got ($744,232,068 in unexercised stock options, for example).

Holly Bailey says in the video that United Health Care refused to pay for medicine she couldn't live without.

"They kept telling my local pharmacy...'Oh we're just waiting for one more letter, or we're just waiting for one more script, and then we'll start paying,'" Bailey said. "This went on for six months, and December 4th both the pharmacy and I received a letter from United Health Care saying they deemed it medically unnecessary and that they were not going to pay any of it.

"I tried to explain to them that if I do not have this, I will die. And the only response she gave me was, 'OK.'"

Joanna Joshua, whose child's treatment was denied, asks, "Stephen Hemsley, how are you able to sleep at night?"

The piece aims to gin up the sort of pitchfork-style outrage against health insurance CEOs that so beset Wall Street executives after their industry was bailed out by the government.

"It's definitely similar and in some ways worse, because these are dollars are literally being taken away from you that could help save lives in order to build bigger mansions," said Greenwald in an interview with the Huffington Post. "We hope it will begin a part of the discussion that has not happened: Who is gaining from the current system, and why are they resisting?"

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/denied-claims-placed-at-h_n_253160.html

This is an interesting read, too. The ex-health insurance executive Amy talks to is also interviewed in the Fault Lines video I linked to above in post #17...

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/16/former_insurance_exec_wendell_porter">“They Dump the Sick to Satisfy Investors”: Insurance Exec Turned Whistleblower Wendell Potter Speaks Out Against Healthcare Industry

[TreasonousBastard]

31. OK, denying claims for profit is immoral...

and it's probably illegal, too, depending on which state you're in.

My point, however, is that "single payer" or any number of other schemes is not immune to this sort of skuldiggery and that cleaning up the system we have is preferable to throwing it out and starting anew with another system with many of the same flaws.

(If single payer denies you a drug or procedure, what is your option then?)

[Turborama]

34. Name one country where their National Health System refuses to treat people for profit.

[TreasonousBastard]

35. Oh, please, it's called "falling through the cracks" and..

every day there's a story posted somewhere about someone somewhere who didn't get treated due to National Health's budget problems or some such other thing.

There is even a DU member who posted for months about her health problems and although she wasn't complaining about Canadian care, it seemed clear that Canada wasn't helping her much.

FWIW, I spent half my working life in other areas of insurance, and eventually came to the conclusion that capital stock companies were not normally as useful for insurance as mutual pools were. Unfortunately, because capital is easier to raise as a stock company, the mutuals out there are tending to go public and convert to stock companies- this is a problem, but one that has to be dealt with, as it won't go away.

There is a very clear line that shouldn't be crossed when it comes to care vs profit, but there are also some fuzzy lines that will pop up no matter what system we use. The point, once again, is to get care to the people and the details of the mechanisms to get it there should remain flexible.

[Turborama]

36. Way to avoid answering my quesion.

You said "My point, however, is that "single payer" or any number of other schemes is not immune to this sort of skuldiggery". I asked you to show me ONE example of this "skuldiggery" (sic).

Thanks for letting us know your line of work, btw. I was going to ask but refrained.

The big difference is that - as you know - an insurance company has profit and shareholders to consider, health care systems paid for by taxpayers have to consider their efficiency.

Check out the stats on Nationmaster: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_hea_car_fun_tot_per_cap-care-funding-total-per-capita

[TreasonousBastard]

37. The problem is that you're not very good at asking questons...

not nearly as good as pointing out typos, anyway. You did ask something about national health plans, and there really aren't that many of them. Not single payer, at any rate. Incidents where they deliberately denied claims to boost profits? Countries don't have profits.

My past line of work (I've been out of it for years) should be of no interest to anyone except for the simple fact that I know a lot more about the insurance business than maybe 99% of the population. OK, 95% Even at that, I admit to knowing little about the details of health insurance, since it wasn't my line. It is, however, fascinating to note that whatever expertise I have is not at all needed in this discussion, as everyone already knows everything they need to know, and I am automatically an apologist and the enemy because of my old profession.

The stats in that link are already well known, and have little to do with the insurance end of things. It's about overall health care costs and how it costs more to diagnose and treat things here than anywhere else in the world. Don't even think of blaming insurance for such things as $20,000 bills for a normal birth.

Now, since you asked, although not all that politely, I do have a small example of "single payer" running into hard times. This isn't exactly what you asked for, but it's all I got on short notice

I have excerpted some of the nasty bits, although the managers say things are all rosy:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8091427.stm


The confederation warns against previous strategies such as "slash and burn" indiscriminate savings, letting waiting lists grow or allowing health service pay to fall out of line with the rest of the economy.

Pull more funding from the NHS and we will be doing surgery in camping tents with pen-knives and vodka for anaesthetic
Dr Rufus Herring, Exeter

It says if the health service can not find solutions it could open the way to more challenging debates, such as the idea of limiting NHS care to a basic package that might exclude care such as IVF, homeopathy and elements of dentistry.

BMA chairman Dr Hamish Meldrum, said: "The imminent funding crisis could be very dangerous for the NHS, and has the potential to seriously threaten patient services. We agree with the NHS Confederation that difficult choices will have to be made."

[Turborama]

40. Who's the one being impolite? That question was fine.

The fact that it's rhetorical & you don't like the answer is your problem, not mine.

The NHS spending obviously needs to be more efficient.

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. Canada upper number for falling thorugh the cracks is 5%, on a BAD year

in the US RIGHT NOW it is close to 40%... between the uninsured and under insured... (low ball by the way)

Take your RIGHT WING talking points and shove them where the light don't shine.

[TreasonousBastard]

61. You really love that 40% number. What else is it good for?

[dflprincess]

24. I have the misfortune to be insured by Cigna

every claim turns into a fight with them and several of my coworkers have the same complaint about them. We're not talking big claims, it's for things like the annual pap smear or mammogram that are supposed to be covered. They constantly try to avoid payouts - I suppose they know that most people give up and just pay the bill. You would think after Potter going public they'd behave themselves for a while.

Nothing these CEOs do justify their salaries. Their major concern is share price, not our health.

[nadinbrzezinski]

54. They administer payments for tricare, medicare and medicaid????

WTF what planet are you on?

Those are GOVERNMENT run programs, with an overhead between two to four percent\ annum.

You are comparing government systems with CIGNA which has an overhead of close to 40% WTF over?

[TreasonousBastard]

57. Yes, they do. Medicare has such a low...

overhead because it contracts out adminstrative costs.

Look up Cigna Government Services for their Part B contracts. Look up the latest contract awards for TRICARE

And where do you get the 40% number for CIGNA? I worked for three of the largest casualty companies in the country and we never had expense ratios that high. CIGNA is now bigger than any of the ones I worked for, and their costs should be lower. They are, in case you haven't noticed, also a very large international life and casualty company. Used to be INA.

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. I am a TRICARE member, try to sell that crap to somebody else

I know my PAYMENTS do not go to CIGNA...

And yes, their overheard is THAT HIGH.

You love the corporations running this country to the ground, fine... but you are peddling right wing talking points.

[TreasonousBastard]

60. Well, they wouldn't if you're in TRICARE South...

http://www.humana-military.com/

Truthfully, I have no idea where your payments go, but the bills are paid by the contractors and have been paid by them since CHAMPUS. Ask them if you don't believe me. Or don't ask them and go on believing anything you want to. It's not my problem if you would rather demonize me than deal with the issue.

Now, It's always curious that I'm the enemy largely because I know some of what I'm talking about with insurance companies, having actually worked for several of them and worked up departmental budgets dealing with L/E ratios. I suppose any expertise that I may have is irrelevant when any windbag can just make claims and be believed if she toes the party line.

Just what is it that you do for a living that makes you so righteous and expert in all things?

[nadinbrzezinski]

65. Thanks for the heads up, so I can scream to my congress critter

and no it is NOT tricare south

And yes, you are still pedling right wing pro-corporatist talking points.

Don't worry, most Muricans do that without even noticing. part of the fucking problem is this relentless road to privatization. That said, the OVERHEAD for TRICARE is MUCH LOWER than any private insurer. That is whether you like that or not. And they are NOT FOR PROFIT, perhaps that has something to do with it.

[DireStrike]

8. You know damn well why they get that much money

and it ain't cuz it's how much they deserve. Or how much they need to be paid to do the job.

[TreasonousBastard]

9. I said that-- what's your point and your solution?

[DireStrike]

10. You said

"But, how much is a CEO actually worth? Anyone want to put a dollar amount on that? Anyone want to explain how you got to that dollar amount? It does cost SOMETHNG to get someone capable of running a multibillion dollar operation with hundreds of thousands of employees. How much?"

Less, is how much.

I wish I had a real solution. My solution involves people realizing that this is completely insane. Which would require reason and clarity, something the country is lacking.

[abumbyanyothername]

25. A very simple solution

equal pay for everyone.

Job or no job. Important job, or menial job. Equal consumption power to all.

Dissociate survival, life, and consumption from work.

[Flatulo]

41. Um, under this plan, how long do you think it would take for everyone to simply stop working?

Why on earth would anyone bust their ass for 12 - 16 years to become a surgeon when one could receive the same compensation for workign on their tan?

[abumbyanyothername]

45. In my opinion

you are suffering from the corporatist mind training, that no one would do anything unless compensated in cash.

I simply don't find that to be true. Many of the most passionate and best at anything (at least anything worth doing) are those who would do it and often are doing it for fun and for free.

[Flatulo]

63. I think history has already voted many times on this failed idea.

[abumbyanyothername]

64. You are entitled to your opinion.

But I wouldn't write it off to history.

The failure of the USSR in particular is a failure of fascism and empire (sound familiar Americans?), not to mention a collapse of raw materials pricing, much more than a failure of the idea of communalism.

[Flatulo]

66. I didn't mention the former USSR, although it is just one example.

Can you cite any societies that have thrived under the conditions you suggest?

[abumbyanyothername]

67. Pretty much every native/natural

society on the planet.

I don't really want to argue this though.

Like I said, you are entitled to your opinion. I just object to you labeling it history. I could live with "history as taught by the post-feudal, but still master-slave mentality influenced capitalist system currently in vogue in the United States of America."

[Flatulo]

68. What's so unnatural about Western, industrialized civilization?

You know, capitalists? We didn't get here from another planet. Just because we learned to master better methods of production does not make our presence 'unnatural' in any way.

The western world, after it got done killing all the native inhabitants, used their superior weapons and technology to double the human lifespan, feed 100 people with the work of one, and create wealth, even for the poorest of us, that would have been unthinkable just 100 years ago.

Not too shabby a record for the capitalists. In return, we got pollution, overcrowding, war, and pockets of extreme wealth/poverty. The latter can be mitigated bia the tax code without throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

All of this could not have happened without a risk/reward system that encouraged individuals to put their effort and capital at risk.

[dhpgetsit]

18. They get paid so much because the business is very profitable.

The business is so profitable because they have a virtual monopoly. You don't have health care insurance clients declining an ambulance ride or medical care based on high prices. The health care insurance companies have us over the proverbial barrel.

Pay or Die.

[Bluerthanblue]

14. these people are ONLY making money off of other people's

illness'. The more they deny those who have entrusted their money to the "company" the richer they get. They are filthy rich- what does this tell you?

Something that is NOT true with athletes, artists, actors etc. I can choose not to buy a pair of Nike's if I don't want to support an athlete- there are many, MANY other brands to choose from, and even if I chose to never buy a pair of sneakers, I'd still not be potentially putting my life/health in the balance. People can't choose not to line the pockets of the CEO's of their insurance company.

:shrug:

[bobbolink]

53. Tiger Woods isn't killing people for a profit.

I think ANY excessive salary is wrong, but your comparison is apples and oranges.

And I'm guessing that doesn't matter to you.

[slipslidingaway]

4. knr - And these people get a seat at the table...

There is a lie in the first paragraph of the testimony by Stephen Hemsley, insurance companies do not provide health services!

They skim profits from health care dollars for their shareholders...period.

http://commerce.senate.gov/public/_files/HemsleyTestimony.pdf

[nightrain]

6. knr#5 It is obscene. And that money could/should be going to services.

I hope folks realize that that's why these policies cost so damn much--take 30% off the top for overhead--executive compensation, all those wonderful advertisements on teevee, paperwork shufflers, staff to deny services, etc...

[JBoy]

11. Incentivized and rewarded for screwing people on their health care.

[CrispyQ]

13. I do believe in monsters.

$744,000,000

I can't even fathom that kind of wealth.

That it is being made on the suffering & death of others is inhumane.

Yes, there are monsters & they are the corporate class.

I'm sending the CEO page of the Sick for Profit site to everyone on my list.

k&r

[kimmerspixelated]

70. These monsters are also alive and well

in Big Pharma(talk about suffering and death),as well and the weird cahootz game they play with the FDA and doctors in general. It's all horrible what they will do for money.

[Winterblues]

15. A single Payer could save America over $400 Billion Immediately

Just in eliminating the Health Care Industry Net Profit. That was the Net Profit in 2008 for the Health Care Insurance Industry

[TreasonousBastard]

23. That's ridiculous for several reasons...

the health insurance industry didn't make that much profit-- that's around 20% of the entire $2.2 trillion health care bill for the whole country.

the same insurance companies you're complaining about are the contract claims agents for Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare and would be the claims agents for "single payer" whatever that turned out to be.

[dflprincess]

26. "UnitedHealth Group 2Q Profit More Than Doubles"

http://wcco.com/local/unitedhealth.group.profits.2.1094476.html

Just a snip from the article:

"Revenue rose to $21.66 billion from $20.27 billion on increased premiums, which grew partly due to price increases."

And, according to the Star Tribune, these profits were made in spite of losing membership - losses blamed on a poor economy.

http://wcco.com/local/unitedhealth.group.profits.2.1094476.html

[TreasonousBastard]

29. That's revenue, not profit...

From that revenue, rent, phone bills, salaries and all sorts of other stuff was paid, oh, and medical bills.

Profit was under $900 million in the quarter, which might mean $3 billion or so for the year. Now, you might think that's a lot, and it might be, but it's less than a 4% profit.

(It mentions the difference between revenue and profit right there in the article. )

[dflprincess]

30. They reported profits of over $150 million for the 2nd quarter.

n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

32. That's even less, but where....

did that number come from? I was using the earnings number in the article.

If they only made $150 million they should be out of business pretty soon-- that's around a half of a percent profit.

[dflprincess]

48. I'm sorry I remembered my numbers incorrectly

(it was late, I was tired)

Actually, their net earnings increased 155%

http://www.startribune.com/business/51360167.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O%20<img%20src=

Despite a continued drop in commercial members in the recession, UnitedHealth reported Tuesday better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter because of lower administrative costs and strong growth in its public-sector businesses, Medicare and Medicaid.

For the quarter ended June 30, UnitedHealth said net earnings were $859 million -- a 154.9 percent increase from $337 million a year earlier, when earnings were dragged down by big lawsuit settlement costs.

http://www.startribune.com/local/51299317.html

UnitedHealth Group 2nd-quarter profit more than doubles on absence of lawsuit settlements

They probably would have made more but this probably cost them a lot in bribes:

http://www.startribune.com/business/50805637.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

UnitedHealth lands $21.8B military health care contract
UnitedHealth Group’s revenue from government programs is about to get much bigger.
The Minnetonka-based health insurer announced late Monday it has landed a multibillion-dollar contract from the Defense Department to manage health benefits for military members, veterans and their dependents in the southern part the country.
The five-year contract covers about 3 million beneficiaries of TRICARE, the Defense Department’s military health program. It begins April 1, 2010, with the transition period beginning immediately.

I don't really understand your need to defend these crooks - especially after McGuire got nailed for shady dealings. It made many people wish we'd saved those emails about ethics that used to come out over his signature (they started after the Enron implosion, leading some of us to speculate that UHG was on the same path).

[TreasonousBastard]

50. I'm not defending them, but...

the fact is that they exist and have to be dealt with, and they are not Ponzi schemes, the Mafia, Mexican drug cartels or the Crips.

Complaining about earnings and wishing them dead isn't going to accomplish a thing-- they will always be around even if for no other reason than federal and state programs can't and won't hire their own administrative staffs and claims agencies.

TRICARE is an interesting concept. It started in the 50s with CHAMPUS, a "single payer" plan. It almost immediately busted the budget and went through several reorganizations until it was finally tossed and redone as TRICARE, also "single payer." There are a number of optional plans, from HMO to not quite Cadillac (maybe Buick). Each plan has a system of deductibles, copays, networks, and whatevers just like private plans. Truth is, they ARE private plans, except for the source of the premiums-- for a long time, I'm not sure if it went back to the beginning, administrative and claims processing have been contracted out.

I don't know if UH had to bribe key Pentagon employees to get the contract, although I have little doubt some will soon show up on its payroll and it paid dearly for lobbying firms. Whatever happend, though, is common enough and not confined to insurers. It would be nice to find a way to stop all of that crap, but I'm not holding my breath.

[dflprincess]

52. "they are not Ponzi schemes, the Mafia, Mexican drug cartels or the Crips."

don't kid yourself. They may have a veneer of respectablilty but deep down they're just as dishonest and probaby even more sociopathic because they pretend to be "good guys".

Remember, the current CEO is from Anderson as we used to say after he arrived at UHG "all part of the same dirty gene pool as Enron".

[PA Democrat]

62. At the minimum they are criminals.

I was FRAUDULENTLY denied coverage for cancer treatment. Imagine my disgust when I found out the company had a long history of kicking out claims for catastrophic illness for the purpose of finding a way to deny coverage. They paid BONUSES to the filthy pigs on their payroll who managed to deny the most claims. They have been successfully sued and fined, but they are still in business. In fact they denied my claim AFTER they had lost a big lawsuit and had been investigated and found to be engaging in illegal activity by the state of Connecticut.

I had to fight them by going to the state attorney general, threatening a lawsuit, and filing a complaint with my state's insurance commissioner to get them to pay. For six months I worried that my family might lose everything because of those scumbag criminals.

If you hold up a convenience store and kill the clerk in the process you get a life sentence or the death penalty. If you are and insurance CEO and you kill people for profit by manufacturing fraudulent reasons for denying life-saving health care, you get a slap on the wrist.

http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2341&Q=333840
http://www.ct.gov/cid/lib/cid/AssurantPressRelease20080515.pdf

[Echo In Light]

16. Profit$ Over People

[TexasObserver]

19. recommend

[PA Democrat]

22. How many people did they kill or bankrupt in the process of making all that money?

[BlooInBloo]

28. Aargh.

[wiggs]

33. Feels like a replay of the Enron and Worldcom days. nt

[LiberalAndProud]

38. Robber barons of the new millenium.

This magnitude of profiteering smells of blackmail.

[ColbertWatcher]

39. k+r, n/t

[Soylent Brice]

42. K&R

[salguine]

43. I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

[midnight]

44. The for profit health insurance industry is killing Americans.

These fat cats have purchased our elected officials to manipulate unethical laws to profit their scheme. If ever there was a ponzi Scheme the criminal height of the banking world this tops it. Madoff was the sacrificial lamb. Now the rest of them can continue with business as usual?

Dem. Congressman Kagan from Wisconsin is a doctor. He is the only one in congress not to take health insurance, because the tax payers that supplement the plan are being blocked to treatment themselves.

"Obama, wielding his own prod, opened a recent news conference with a pointed reference to the disparity between lawmakers and those they serve."

But Rep. Steve Kagen
The Wisconsin Democrat has refused to accept federal healthcare benefits, making him the only member of Congress to do without. He will continue, he said in an interview, until every American can enjoy the same coverage as federal lawmakers.

“If every member of Congress put their heads on their pillow every night like I do . . . knowing this could be the night I lose my house, we’d fix healthcare in a week,” said Kagen, who spent decades as a doctor in the Green Bay area before winning office in 2006.

http://www.kagen4congress.com/news/congress-own-healthcare-benefits-membership-has-its-privileges/

[Oldtimeralso]

46. Mr. Helmsley and United Have Cost Me Dearly...

80% of the vision in my dominant eye. I'm glad he is doing a LOT better than me:sarcasm:

I think that the name Helmsley is ironic,as"only little people pay taxes".

[redqueen]

47. And there's so much more being spread around...

billions are at stake, which is why they're fighting so hard and spending so much to keep the system rigged in their favor.

[City Lights]

49. KRB!

:nuke:

I'm so freaking sick of paying health insurance premiums so these assholes can buy off our elected officials.

Fuck 'em.

[orleans]

51. just found this thread. omg. k&r n/t

[Hugin]

56. Parasites... Profiting off of the sickness and death of others. n/t

[rvablue]

59. Disgusting. And what makes it worse is that many of these "protesters"

probably don't have insurance, or if they do, would face some of the same horror stories listed here if they faced a catastrophic health crisis!

And yet, they scream and yell for no reform because Pigboy and Crybaby told them to....

Why do they hate themselves? Why do they fight against reform that will ulitmately help them? Why is their rage and ire so misdirected?

I just don't get it. Never will.

[Flatulo]

69. It's not just the insurance company CEOs. It's an entitlemanet

mentality that pervades the executive suite of every industry. I have had the misfortune of seeing several good businesses run into the ground solely due to the incompetence of executives who then absconded with tens of millions from the wreckage as a reward for their malfeasance.

Our entire corporate culture rewards short-term risk-taking over long-term planning.

Soon, very soon, we will come up against very smart Asian capitalists who have 25 and 50 year plans.

[NecklyTyler]

71. This looks ripe for targeted application of the tax code to even things out

The chief executive officers of corporations are taxed according to the difference between the annual wages of the lowest paid worker and the total income of the CEO.

If the CEOs wants to keep the obscene amount of money they are paid, they have to up the pay of the workers at the bottom.

[Flatulo]

74. The tax code is the only legal and moral way to correct this.

One could make the argument that professional athletes are worth their ridiculous salaries by virtue of the fact that the fans keep buying tickets and the advertisers keep buying advertising. Market forces are at work here.

But there is simply no correlation between the effort exerted by a CEO (or any executive) and the corresponding compensations. It's just lunacy. And we, the average slobs, have no market leverage to apply.

[tooeyeten]

75. The wingnut hypocrisy

They hate any help for the poor, but the rich getting rich off their backs, they don't seem to mind. Crazy people.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

76. excellent post

kicking up

[Quantess]

77. Evening kick

Recommended.

[MZacc]

78. Executive Compensation Is Not the Problem With Health care

Rather than being revolted at their salaries it would be
better to take away their business.  
People need get together to solve the problem of health care. 
 
Every healthy person who is paying for health insurance could
be helping someone who is sick obtain care.  
How to make this a reality is what this discussion should be
about, not about how much money a person makes. 
We should all band together to form a health insurance company
who's sole purpose is covering more people.  It should be a
moral imperative.  The government is amoral and will not solve
this problem without people like these thieves getting the
lion's share of our money. 

[Quantess]

79. And, would this be a government-run insurance company? Or not?

We should all band together to form a health insurance
company who's sole purpose is covering more people.

Welcome to DU. :)