Insurers don't like to 'share'
The current mantra of those who support our private insurance model for health care is "shared responsibility." Their goal is to ratchet up the amount that individuals will have to pay for medical costs, by buying insurance policies that have higher deductibles, larger co-payments, and higher costs for prescription drugs. What "shared responsibility" is about is maintaining insurance company profits.
Under pressure from Wall Street for disappointing earnings during the first quarter of 2008, CEOs from the two largest health insurance plans, United Health Group and Wellpoint, told investors last week that they would "continue to protect their (profit) margins" and "not sacrifice profitability for membership" i.e., they aren't going to hold down premium increases to keep members on their rolls. Wellpoint's CEO, Angela Braly, also said that her company's market power would give it the ability to lean hard on its network doctors to accept lower reimbursements. What she didn't add was that her predecessor, retired CEO Larry Glasscock, left Wellpoint in 2007 with a $23.9 million farewell package. The private insurance model benefits neither patients nor doctors.
How much healthcare could your state buy with $23.9 million dollars?
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5000 people for one year in florida
give or take, since they're 2005 numbers, but that kind of money would buy one year of medicaid for approximately:
last year the u.s. spent a little over $7000 per capita on health care, so glasscock's golden parachute could have paid for health care for roughly 3400 other people.
a side note: $23.9 million is approximately 500x the median household income in the u.s. [note to self: 1 ceo = 500 families]
Jeebus
That's a good number.
One CEO is worth 5000 people? Can we afford the rich any more?
[x] Any (D) in the general. [ ] ?????. [ ] Any mullah-sucking billionaire-teabagging torture-loving pus-encrusted spawn of Cthulhu, bless his (R) heart.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
glasscock is a piker
if he were any good, he'd be managing a hedge fund or a private equity company.
no, we really cannot afford these people.
Cn I haz Potatoe?
"The executive ranks of Cerberus include...former Vice President Dan Quayle."
Kidz: Y spel gud? Know kneed two. Mayk beeg bux f U cn Spel - "Hedge Fund". Thx. Dan
i love ichc
but sumtymez u do gotz 2 wunder f teh cat capshunners all tuk spellng lessuns frum teh qwayle
Cerberus
considering that was the three headed dog which guarded hell that is a unbelievable name for an investment fund. How does Lambert put this, it is called an investment vehicle because it is designed to drive away with your money.
Incidentally, former treas sec Snow was previously the CEO of CSX corp., one of the very few companies that lost money during the 90's. Snow spent his tenure dumping CSX stock. He is a study in failing upwards.