Second Quarter earnings
Here are the latest second quarter earnings report from the major third party payors. As you can see, none of these look to be struggling and all continue to have very healthy bottom lines.
Should this be a concern for all the small businesses that struggle to provide health insurance coverage to their employees?
Should all of the uninsured ask questions as the why this continues to occur. If the government places so many restrictions on free trade with physicians, why are their not more safeguards against this.
In my opinion, the answer remains that these huge companies provide lots of money to the political parties, individuals and lobbyists and do not want to see radical changes in how healthcare is delivered.
posted by Anonymous at 5:49 AM
15 Comments:
I am not sure what point you are trying to make. All those companies made a lot of money, but their earnings were about 5% to 6.5% of revenues. That doesn't seem particularly excessive to me. Just what kind of profit limitations would you propose to regulate?
I believe it was stated by HB on this Blog that his profit was 40% after expenses. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Sounds like the change in the way healthcare is delivered that you've got in mind is that physicians make money, but nobody else.
Here's a possible change:
House EHRs with the healthplans and make PCPs employees of the Healthplans. Have specialists, hospitals etc. compete by them showing what value they provide through illustrating their cost/outcomes.
In other words, the health plans would direct patients to the best place to go for back pain, have diabetes treated, an injury rehabed etc.
Dumb question--what is EHR? I assume PCP is primary care physician.
Electronic Health Record
Thanks.
Once again, many critics on physician salaries but never comments on the multimillion dollar CEO salaries that each of these companies earn. How do you define profit?
BDMD is correct in his assessment. The critics always want to point the finger at physicians.
Anonymous is wrong about the profit response. To compare apples to apples, we would all have to agree on how to define the numbers. What is included in expenses of these companies. If CEO salaries are included than their profit margin is lower. If physicians salaries were included in their expenses and if it were fixed every year as the CEO's are, then most offices would be in the red for the past 3-5 years as they would have a negative profit margin.
I may be missing something, but if anyone is in business and can make the statement that they receive 40% of their income after expenses, does this not reflect a higher return than most business, large or small? Also if a business has salaries, can they not list this as a business expense. So in essence, can Doctors not write off their own salaries as a business expense? Just wondering if a Physician salary is deducted before or after the 40% profit that has been stated elsewhere on this blog.
Once again, you need to define each term. It will vary on how it is reported based on whether it is a sole proprietership, LLC, corporation, whether the physician is employed, recieves a 1099 or a W-2 and a whole host of other factors.
Comparing one type of reporting to another cannot be done.
Billing uninsured at maximum rates had been the standard practice. It always hurt the ones who could least afford to pay and was never fair.
Radical changes are needed, but employing physicians has proven detrimental in most all cases. Look at the VA system.
"Radical changes are needed, but employing physicians has proven detrimental in most all cases."
Political parties, individuals and lobbyists are not the only ones who will resist true radical changes.
I wonder what all the folks at Kaiser out West would think about the statement that employing physicians is determental? And if the VA is so bad, how come so many veterans are screaming to get into the system?
In all reality isn't employing physicians a practice in your place of business. This seems to be the trend in todays world. There are not many Doctors in individual practice anymore.In that respect I see no difference in VA hopitals or your place of business. Correct me if I'm wrong but I would think that the Government would pick up the expense of care and equipment and pay the Doctors a salary. I would think in a Private practice the profit after expenses would be distributed by the contract that Physcians signed upon joining a practice. I would love to see a survey of business owners,Physician
Offices included that could proclaim a 40% profit after expenses.
(Income-Expenses=Profit)
Physicians in our practice make what they collect after expenses. If we kept the same salary we had 4 years ago, our profit would be in the negative range for the past 3 years based on your definition. Our expenses have increased, collections decreased. If our salaries remained the same and you include that as an expense, then we have a negative profit for the past 3 years.
The Kaiser system is certainly not efficient. Just last week, it took my cousin 2 weeks to get an MRI for what they thought might be a brain tumor. It took 4 weeks to see the neurologist. This would not be acceptable to most people, but it may be where we are heading. Vets want the VA system because prescriptions are $4.00. It is not because of the physician care they recieve.
I am talking about the 40% profit that you stated on this blog. Was that a typo or did you not mean to say that you had a 40% profit in your business. You must remember that a Doctors office visit was 6-7 dollars 30 or 40 years ago. What is it now? Rates have increased with the cost of living. Every business is having to make adjustments in the way they do business, and many Doctors are having to do the same. The problem with Doctors is that they had a built in money withdrawal, the Government and the Insurance Companies and the patient. They did not have to answer to none of them, now the insurance companies and the government is requiring more from everyone. Times have changed and unfortunately everyone
is going to have to make adjustments in how they receive and pay for their healthcare.
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