"non profit" healthcare providers racking up the dough

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Just saw a snippet in the back of the new consumer reports (yes, let the consumer reports jabs begin!).

Turns out the 'non profit' healthcare providers are sitting on huge piles of cash. Blue Cross/Blue Shield nationwide has accumulated approximately $30B in 'reserves'. There are 45M uninsured people in the US. Do the math.

CR tried to force BC/BS in some states to return the cash in the form of subsidized insurance or insuring the poor. From what was written it looks like the insurers swung a deal with the state politicos to do a little something symbolic and fund something for the state in exchange for protection from the screaming mobs.

Nice.

 

[Michael]

Let them keep the cash in case their customers have more claims than expected.  They are the only ones actually preparing for possible bad times during their good years.  Social Security, Medicare, private and state pension plans are teetering on the brink of destruction.

 

[moghopper]

Let them keep the cash in case their customers have more claims than expected. They are the only ones actually preparing for possible bad times during their good years. Social Security, Medicare, private and state pension plans are teetering on the bring of destruction.

I used to think that "ant and grasshopper"** story was about the grasshopper being a poor planner. Turns out the ant was a greedy bastard.


**The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.
"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling in that way?"

"I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.
When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

 

[Michael]

Turns out the ant was a greedy bastard.

That is apparently what the politicians think.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

So he ate all of the ants, and then later on had some popcorn?

 

[Texas Proud]

TH,

You make the fatal mistake that most people do.... you think "non profit".

Show me where these organizations are considered "non profit" in a governmental sense. If you look in the IRS code, which is where these things are defined, you will see they are "tax exempt" entities, ie. they pay no income tax.. Nowhere does it say they can not earn a profit. There are rules that saw that they have to use some of the assets on charitable pursuits, but really not much.

TP

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Oh I wasnt even barking up that tree. I was barking up the "hi, we're raising your premiums left and right to cover our ever rising healthcare costs, however we somehow generated a buffettesque pile of cash in the process. We're going to handle this by continuing to raise the fees we charge you".

Caught a blurb on bloomberg today. Said something like the average family coverage was $900 and change today and was expected to rise into the $1500 and change area within 5 years.

 

[Texas Proud]

No problem...

One of the problems with them making a large profit is they do build up a pile of cash and then have to so SOMETHING with it... they can not dividend it to shareholders or buy back stock... but, they start to give themselves big salaries and buy resorts for them to go to and 'talk business'...

Another example is Harvard... they have such a big endowment they could allow free tuition for all students, but it still does not stop them from charging a high fee.

Capitalism looks bad if you are on the wrong end of the equation.