Our CEO shares the full, alarming picture of ever-increasing payer profits. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this; have your healthcare costs gone up and up, while insurance giants keep raking in the cash?
I had an eye-opening experience recently that drives home just how much people are shocked and infuriated by what’s really going on with health insurance payers. While attending a conference session where I wasn’t speaking, the presenter began discussing how bad the payers are. Suddenly, she showed two photos of slides from a presentation I gave last month at HomeTown Health, covering the top six payers' profits and lobbying dollars. She even mentioned that a guy from Atlanta had shared this information at a recent event. I approached her after her talk, explained that the slides were mine, and asked how she got them. Not because I minded at all – to the contrary, I was grateful that she was spreading the word about how bad the situation has become. She told me that a hospital CFO who attended my presentation had been sharing them widely, to help other healthcare leaders understand just how greedy these payers really are, and the damage they’re doing to patients and providers across the country. I’m pleased that this information is having such an impact, so I thought I’d share the slides here as well. They show the extent to which the top six insurance payers have leveraged the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 to skyrocket their profits over the last 20 years. This Act expanded private insurers' ability to offer Medicare Advantage, effectively turning a taxpayer-funded program into a massive revenue stream for many of these companies. Meanwhile, they continue to deny payments to the hospitals and providers that deliver essential care, pushing more responsibility to patients through high deductibles and copays. It’s no coincidence that these payers have steadily climbed the Fortune 500 list, fueled by profits from a system that was supposed to benefit patients and providers, not corporate shareholders. This is why I like to call Medicare Advantage “the greatest corporate steal in American history.” Please feel free to download these slides as well, and share them as you see fit. We all need to work together to fight for fair and accountable payment systems that truly serve patients, and the healthcare providers dedicated to their care.