UnitedHealth, Profits and the reversal in Life Expectancy

UnitedHealth’s profits give us some idea why our costs are rising.

“UnitedHealth posted first-quarter net income of $994 million, or 78 cents per share, compared with $927 million, or 66 cents per share, a year earlier.”

“Revenue rose 7 percent to $20.3 billion.”

“The company served medical benefits to about 32.4 million people”

“These financial results are not acceptable for a company with our capabilities and potential,” UnitedHealth Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hemsley said in a statement.”

Meanwhile the economy is melting down, unemployment is increasing and for the first time statistics show a reversal of mortality statistics in parts of the United States.

“It’s very troubling that there are parts of the wealthiest country in the world, with the highest health spending in the world, where health is getting worse,” said Majid Ezzati, the lead author and an associate professor of international health at Harvard. It is a phenomenon, he added, “unheard of in any other developed country.”

McCain thinks this is the best system in the world. The question is for whom?

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