Imagine a society where no company earns a profit providing health care. The immediate impact would be a savings of $12.2 billion just by eliminating the “for profit” insurance companies.
It is time we had a discussion about
- David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
providing all Americans with health care at the lowest possible cost. David Lazarus in his April 19, 2011 column in the Los Angeles Times about health insurance choices reflects the problem that many of us face. His ending words “access to safe food, clean water, affordable healthcare — that shouldn’t be first and foremost about profits” is the issue that really faces America. The Los Angles Time editorial “Can Medicare be saved?” ducked that issue. The editorial discussion and the words on every person’s lips ought to be about America’s choice between for-profit health care or non-profit health care.
Profit is the crux of the issue. Why should anyone in the United States be profiting from providing health care? Private insurance companies and “for profit” hospitals and clinics are part of the problem. Neither Democrats nor Republicans will address this issue. In my view the reason for this is that capitalism takes precedence over everything else. Despite what Republicans say about Barack Obama, he is a capitalist.
The Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) is perhaps the largest company of its kind with hospitals in 20 states. 38 of those hospitals are in Florida and no wonder since that is the state with the greatest number of seniors (age 65+) according to Seniorjournal.com. HCA Revenue for the year that ended Dec. 31, 2010, was $30.68 billion, up from $30.05 billion in 2009. Profits rose 14.5 percent to $1.2 billion.
In 2006, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Bain Capital, together with Merrill Lynch and the Frist family (which had founded the company) completed a $31.6 billion acquisition of the hospital company, making the company privately-held again 17 years after it was taken private for the first time in a management buyout. Florida Governor Rick Scott is the former CEO of HCA.
Remember Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee? He began his career as an heir and major stockholder of HCA.
What are the chances that “for-profit” health insurance and hospitals will be eliminated? Try the number ZERO.
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