Digby links this excellent reporting on the pay for parasites:

* United Health Group
CEO: William W McGuire
2005: 124.8 mil
5-year: 342 mil

* Forest Labs
CEO: Howard Solomon
2005: 92.1 mil
5-year: 295 mil

* Caremark Rx
CEO: Edwin M Crawford
2005: 77.9 mil
5-year: 93.6 mil

* Abbott Lab
CEO: Miles White
2005: 26.2 mil

Dozens Gather For Healthcare Rally

Advocates for a single payer healthcare system gathered in Louisville Thursday for what’s become an annual rally.

Western Massachusetts PDA Mobilizes for HR 676

The Western Massachusetts Chapter of PDA with allies in the Western Mass. Single Payer Network convened for a lunchtime rally at the Federal Building in Springfield on Wednesday, May 27. One hundred strong, we once again sought a meeting to discuss single-payer healthcare with Rep. Richard Neal, one of only 3 Mass. Representatives who has not yet sponsored HR676.

Kentuckians for Single Payer Healthcare

Demonstration for HR 676
Start: 11:30 am
End: 1:00 pm
Thursday, May 28, 2009 Time: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Demonstration for HR 676, The United States National Health Care Act. Place: 5th and Main in downtown Louisville (in front of Humana headquarters)

Aetna Posts Loss of $326.5 Million on Debt Securities in ‘08

At least Aetna has company–everybody in the sector seems to have been stung by the crisis, from Humana’s investment losses to UnitedHealth’s write-down on its venture capital program.

Obviously these were not appropriate investments for health insurance companies. Combine this with a collapsing premium base as more and more people are layed off, and more and more employers ceasing to offer health insurance, and you have an imploding business model.

Unhealthy insurers

US health insurers, already feeling unwell at the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency, had their condition further downgraded this past week as the financial crisis hit earnings. While the patient has suffered a bit of a shock, the prognosis is better than the average 61 per cent drop over the past year in the shares of six leading managed-care companies would suggest.

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Last year John Bertko dumped a net of 8,300 shares of Humana stock. Since November 2006 Bruce Goodman has dumped a net of 31,251 shares of Humana stock.

Merely stating the net sales of shares does not give the scale of greed we are dealing with. If you go through the trades of Humana’s Board of Directors you see parasites exercising options for little or nothing and selling at huge gains. Someone needs to ask Yarmuth and the rest of the Kentucky delegation, if Humana does not believe in it’s business model, why should the rest of us?

Round 1: No agreement today in KY-3 debate

Yarmuth said the legislation in question - specifically, H.R. 676 - was never going to pass and was intended only as a statement of his desire for universal health care.

Do you live in Yarmuth's district? Do you know anyone who does? Tell Yarmuth that you expect him to keep his promise to support HR 676.

Kentucky for Single Payer

Let's talk about corporate greed. It is worse than you thought. We know that these companies make money by collecting premiums and then denying care. The question is, money for who? Let's look at their insider trades:
Cigna's board of directors and chief corporate officers collectively dumped 129,499 shares of Cigna stock. I tried to add that up to what it would be in dollars, got as far as $17,342,224. That is in addition to their very high salary. How much health care could your municipality buy with $17 million dollars?

Major insurance companies drop on sector woes

Although UnitedHealth Group reported a positive fourth quarter—including a 62% increase for its Ingenix database system business—the company’s stocks have since plummeted, partially because of an ongoing investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. On March 12, shares fell to a 52-week low, bottoming out near $36 after seeing prices as high as $60 in December 2007. ...

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