Crisis? What Crisis?

Crisis? What Crisis? -

..also the title of a Supertramp album from 1975 - has a picture of a guy on the cover relaxing in the sun , with a big parasol blocking the sun from him. In the background there is a landscape of factories and refineries spewing toxic clouds of smoke into the air.


This is why I am writing this letter - the health care companies are the guy under the parasol and the general public lives amongst all of the factories and refineries.

So, how so you ask? Well, it is like this.

In the USA, it is almost a necessity to have health insurance. Well, it is a necessity if you need regular care. That would make up about 100% of the population. Especially if you have kids, or you are elderly. For my mother in law , who is 76 and a 4 time cancer survivor , it is either that she pays her premiums or she dies. Plain and simple. For my son and I , we pay the premiums (well, I do ), or I get fired (AGAIN!) and he cannot function. We both need medication just to function. He is mildly autistic , and had some ADHD so we treat him for that. I am probably autistic as well ( never been OFFICIALLY) tested and I do have a severe case of adult ADHD. It makes me cranky, short fused, lose patience easily, foul-mouthed and edgy. I take medicine, and I can control it MOST of the time. ( my wife may say otherwise).

So, what is the crisis you ask? Well, why do my health insurance premiums keep increasing, and my my coverage stay the same or actually decrease? See below:

NB: the below information is taken from http://www.nasdaq.com - 10 minutes of research and a little knowledge of finance, and voila! Look how much money they make! (oh the 'm' stands for millions , by the way!)
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Aetna

Totals 2007 2006 2005
Revenue $27,599(m) $25,145(m) $22,491(m)
EPS 3.47 2.99 2.7
Dividends 0.08 0.08 0.04

Net Income Applicable to
Common Shareholders
2007 2006 2005
$1,831,000,000 $1,701,700,000 $1,634,500,000

Cigna

Totals 2007 2006 2005
Revenue $17,623(m) $16,547(m) $16,684(m)
EPS 3.87 3.427 4.173
Dividends 0.038 0.033 0.033

Net Income Applicable to
Common Shareholders
2007 2006 2005
$1,115,000,000 $1,155,000,000 $1,625,000,000



EPS serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.

A distribution of a portion of a company's earnings, decided by the board of directors,
to a class of its shareholders.
The dividend is most often quoted in terms of the dollar amount each share receives (dividends per share).
It can also be quoted in terms of a percent of the current market price, referred to as dividend yield.

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Okay, so if you look carefully, Cigna ( big health care company) has decreased in income and Aetna has increased. I wanted to see a profit and loss statement ( basically shows how much profit a company has) but , hey, I couldn't get one. (Not available from this site - please contact company directly.) Gee. I would have had to go directly to the company for one. So, I can't expose their evil so easily ....

Some incomplete data here. Sorry!

However, if you look at the numbers, you can see that the company is generating a shit-load of capital. Cinga in 2007 $1.115 BILLION!! . Aetna in 2007 $1.831 BILLION!! Not bad for a company that's only real expense is paying doctors and hospitals.

So, we keep hearing on the news that there is a "..health care crisis in the USA..." Really? Maybe for you and I , since we have to dig a little deeper but not for the Cignas and Aetnas. So, wouldn't you think that if you pay more for something that you will get a better product? I would think so.

I guess we just have to think about all those poor, poor CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, and CEOs that only got a $1.5 million bonus last Christmas instead of the $2.0 million one that they got the previous year. Think about that next time you pick up your prescription at Walmart and your co-pay is now $10 instead of $5 for generic drugs. Just consider yourself lucky.

Peace