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Lets preface this web page by first noticing that even though Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida has the most complaints (table is below article) in the health insurance category that they also have the most revenue. A fairer number would be the ratio of complaints to the amount of premium collected (in 2008) which would equal 4,750,505 and second place which is held by United Health Care (aka Golden Rule) 7,334,957 which would mean that as a function of premium United Health Care has far more problems then Blue Cross Blue Shield. The reason for this however is that Blue Cross is a domiciled insurance carrier of Florida which means that they must adhere to Florida law and in particular rating practices; whereas Golden Rule for instance is an out of state association based company and may engage in rating practices prohibited by Florida law. To read more about thse and other fun facts check out Review of Florida Health Insurance Laws Relating to Rates and Access to Coverage . Another fact is that United Health One has a tendency to rescind health insurance policies. Take it from me, I must have set a record as probably 10 out of 100 United Health Care policies were rescinded in 2008. This means that the company refunds the entire premium from the effective date of the policy and leaves you without health insurance. Their reasoning? Because you didn't answer the application honestly. In all fairness to UHC, these recissions tended to be for serious illnesses not little things. Although one actual case involved a policy holder who due to perhaps negligence or ignorance of the medical profession in their area, died of an ear infection…United Healthcare deemed this as a pre-existing condition and denied the medical claims, the grieving daughter had to fight United Heatlhcare in hopes of having those medical claims covered and we never did hear the end of that battle although it may still very well be going a year later?!
1,618,1492 is the ration for Aetna which is far better than either company and I have never had a recission for an Aetna policy nor has a client ever complained about them (except for the Great Premium increase of 2009, 20% by most accounts). Golden Rule is on there a second time as just Golden Rule and their complaint level is 2,466,119 which is still fairly high. Unicare out of Texas is fantastic as is CIGNA in having a low ratio. The rest of the companies are life insurance carriers and I can't imagine why people complain about their life insurance policy (as they would most likely be dead by the time any serious issue came up!)
If you would like to file a health insurance complaint please visit our health insurance complaint section in the contact section and I will not only post your complaint if valid but I can help you get satisfaction with the state.
Florida's Health Insurance Companies and Their Annual Premiums and Revenue
I have also used this page to show the revenue size of Florida health insurance companies in terms of annual premium received. Of course this is the only source of revenue so it stands to reason that after factoring in expenses (claims) some health insurance companies might be more profitable than others but take in less premiums. In fact, in the health insurance industry the margins of a particular company could determine to what degree they are taking a profit motivation over their responsibility as a health insurance provider who exists soley to provide for their member in the event of catastrophe. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida is non profit for example shouldn't their margins be lower than United Health One a for profit company? The answer is yes of course because the moment they are more profitable they are doing so at the expense of their member to whom their sole responsibility should lie. Remember even though the average profit margin in the health insurance industry is only 2.2% that is after the executives and the CEO take their bonuses and salaries.
What do these numbers mean? Basically, the health care costs problems are not because of the health insurance industry. I have said this many times as the only way for a health insurance company to become more profitable is at the expense of another health insurance because when they drive up membership they are usually taking them from another company or from the ranks of the uninsured. Therefore, in order to reform health care we will need to look at tort reform, pharmecuticals, and the hospitals that make much higher profit margins then the beleagured insurance companies. But this does not mean that the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida company jet should be ignored either. (In comparison, trial lawyers showed a profit margin of almost 14%, six times that of the health insurers. )
Here are some Example of the Health Insurance Profits and The Profit Margins
Health insurers posted a 2.2 percent profit margin last year, placing them 35th of 53 industries on the Fortune 500 list. As is typical, other health sectors did much better — drugs and medical products and services were both in the top 10.
The railroads brought in a 12.6 percent profit margin. Leading the list: network and other communications equipment, at 20.4 percent.
HealthSpring, the best performer in the health insurance industry, posted 5.4 percent. That's a less profitable margin than was achieved by the makers of Tupperware, Clorox bleach and Molson and Coors beers.
The star among the health insurance companies did, however, nose out Jack in the Box restaurants, which only achieved a 4 percent margin.
UnitedHealth Group, reporting third quarter results last week, saw fortunes improve. It managed a 5 percent profit margin on an 8 percent growth in revenue.
Van Hollen is right that premiums have more than doubled in a decade, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study that found a 131 percent increase.
But were the Bush years golden ones for health insurers?
Not judging by profit margins, profit growth or returns to shareholders. The industry's overall profits grew only 8.8 percent from 2003 to 2008, and its margins year to year, from 2005 forward, never cracked 8 percent.
The latest annual profit margins of a selection of products, services and industries: Tupperware Brands, 7.5 percent; Yahoo, 5.9 percent; Hershey, 6.1 percent; Clorox, 8.7 percent; Molson Coors Brewing, 8.1 percent; construction and farm machinery, 5 percent; Yum Brands (think KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), 8.5 percent.
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