Anthem Health Plans of Maine, a subsidiary of WellPoint, is suing the state because they want to increase premium rates by 18.5% on their 12,000 individual insurance policy holders, so they can guarantee themselves a 3% profit margin. This story shows how silly it would be to solely rely on regulation to rein in insurance industry practices.
More like this
Stories like this one about private insurers operations are one good reason.
2009 was a dismal year, economically speaking -- unless you were a health insurer:
By way of Echidne, I came across this article about
What does UnitedHealthcare CEO Stephen Hemsley have to lose if Congress passes real healthcare reform this year? Well, for starters, his nearly three quarters of a billion dollars in unexercised stock options might lose a few pennies on the dollar.
"But Brutus is an honorable man... Am I outraged? No, this is the insurance industry, our partner in capitalism."
(With apologies to Aaron Sorkin and Allison Janney)