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Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. They introduce many problems into the healthcare market, but if you think they’re the reason p

Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. They introduce many problems into the healthcare market, but if you think they’re the reason people can’t afford healthcare, you are mistaken. I don’t mean to sound snarky here, but: if you believe you can boil down one of the most fractured, complex, and heavily regulated industries (really, set of inter-related industries) in the country to a single “that group of assholes over there cause all the problems” bulletpoint, you have missed 99% of the story.

Kalium 7y ago
> Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. They introduce many problems into the healthcare market, but if you think they’re the reason people can’t afford healthcare, you are mistaken. People see a lot of money flowing into insurers and hear about large profit numbers. That makes it feel like they're the obvious problem.
- derivagral 7y ago
  I've (anecdotally) noticed that people and candidates tend to refer to insurance costs, vs costs of the underlying. My perception is that they want "medical insurance" to really be a subsidy, not classic insurance.
ceejayoz 7y ago
> Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. Well, that's partially because they're legally required to spend 80% of premiums on patient care. The end result is that higher premiums mean higher profits out of that fixed percentage of margin they're permitted to skim, so they don't fight cost increases too much - until people outright stop being able to afford the premiums, increases in them benefit the insurer's bottom line.
pbhjpbhj 7y ago
The wages of all the people working in health insurance don't appear as profit, but if you removed the industry all that money - and the rents - would be released. To recapitulate it's not just the profit, it's the entire sectors costs that you release by removing the need for that sector. There would be incidental costs, like more unemployment, and possibly some more admin within the healthcare system; though from what I hear it would more probably reduce admin costs on the healthcare end too.

Kalium 7y ago

> Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. They introduce many problems into the healthcare market, but if you think they’re the reason people can’t afford healthcare, you are mistaken. People see a lot of money flowing into insurers and hear about large profit numbers. That makes it feel like they're the obvious problem.

derivagral 7y ago
I've (anecdotally) noticed that people and candidates tend to refer to insurance costs, vs costs of the underlying. My perception is that they want "medical insurance" to really be a subsidy, not classic insurance.

ceejayoz 7y ago

> Most health insurance has a profit margin in the vicinity of 10%. Well, that's partially because they're legally required to spend 80% of premiums on patient care. The end result is that higher premiums mean higher profits out of that fixed percentage of margin they're permitted to skim, so they don't fight cost increases too much - until people outright stop being able to afford the premiums, increases in them benefit the insurer's bottom line.

pbhjpbhj 7y ago

The wages of all the people working in health insurance don't appear as profit, but if you removed the industry all that money - and the rents - would be released. To recapitulate it's not just the profit, it's the entire sectors costs that you release by removing the need for that sector. There would be incidental costs, like more unemployment, and possibly some more admin within the healthcare system; though from what I hear it would more probably reduce admin costs on the healthcare end too.