Milosia2 Loc: Cleveland Ohio

The Potter Report

UnitedHealth's $24 Billion Profit

January 24, 2022

Just days after a Commonwealth Fund report showed that American families are sending health insurance companies more and more of their income every year even as their deductibles skyrocket, the country’s biggest insurer reported massive 2021 profits and told investors to expect even higher profits in 2022.


UnitedHealth on Wednesday reported 2021 profits of $24 billion on revenue of $287.6 billion. Executives told Wall Street they expect United will be the first insurer to take in more than $300 billion from its customers this year.


Instead of giving its health plan customers relief from ever-increasing out-of-pocket requirements, United spent $5 billion last year buying back its own shares of stock, a gimmick that boosts the value of shares and makes shareholders richer. United also paid shareholders $5.3 billion in dividends in 2021.


No insurer has ever made that kind of money in U.S. history. It’s even more notable when you consider that United is not growing by attracting substantially more new customers.


At the end of 2021, United had about 26.6 million people enrolled in its commercial (individual and employer-sponsored) health plans. That’s just 700,000 more than the 25.9 million the company had 10 years ago. Most of United’s membership and revenue growth now comes from the company’s Medicare Advantage plans and the state Medicaid programs it manages. In other words, from us as taxpayers. United and other insurers are padding their top and bottom lines by charging their existing commercial customers higher and higher premiums every year.


Consider this: an employer-sponsored family policy that cost an average of $15,073 in 2011 cost $22,221 in 2021, a 47% increase, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And during that time, insurers have forced their health plan enrollees to pay more and more out of their own pockets through ever-increasing deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. Most Americans now have to pay on average twice as much out of their own pockets as they did 10 years ago.


That Commonwealth Fund report I mentioned earlier shows that with the relentless increase in both premiums and out-of-pockets, Americans are shelling out far more of their household income for health insurance and to cover out-of-pockets than a decade ago. Premiums and deductibles now take up more than 10% of median income in 37 states, up from just 10 in 2010.


Insurers argue that high deductibles are necessary to control premium increases. Unfortunately, most employers and policymakers seem to have bought that argument. But when you look at the research from both the Commonwealth Fund and Kaiser Family Foundation–and then the record profits United and other insurers are reporting–that talking point just doesn’t hold up.

2021 Profits!
Go ahead keep defending them !
What did you get for that last $24 Billion you spent ?????????
Better healthcare?
Better. Policy coverage ?
Higher deductibles?
Lower deductibles ?
More pandemic coverage ?

Nope. Only pointier dunce hats. !

pegw

Do why do you not want Medicare for all?

Sonny Magoo Loc: Where pot pie is boiled in a kettle

I can tell you this:
My health insurance premiums go up every year, but until Trump, they had been more than 10% increases under Obama.
Sometimes 20% and more.
During the Trump years the increases were the lowest.

Milosia2 Loc: Cleveland Ohio

Go to the Tarbell sight they explain this perfectly.
Potter is an ex CEO of united Healthcare.
He has been exposing the “inconsistencies “
Since his departure.

Rose42

Go ahead and keep enabling them democrats! Act just like the republicans! Why? Because the democrat party is also controlled by lobbyists and money. Its party uber alles.

Things don’t change. Wake up

Milosia2 Loc: Cleveland Ohio

How you gonna blame Biden on this one ?
Katie Porter says we overpay $7 Billion per year not being able to bargain for meds.
This was Bush43s plan.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

It's always about the money, nothing else matters.

Milosia2 Loc: Cleveland Ohio

Shouldn’t it be about …health ?

Milosia2 Loc: Cleveland Ohio

Privatized Healthcare was an extremely Republican mandate. Perfect , for capitalism.
A business with no employees, only buildings used are for collecting money, no manufacturing, decide in a board meeting How much you want to spend,
And best of all , last year after all the bills were paid, an $24Billion profit. For one company. And after one year
United HealthCare logged $24 Billion profit.
Their subsidiary AARP have Privatized about 45% of your Medicare at this moment in time .
If you were against this happening maybe mows the time to speak up before you lose your Medicare Program , favoring a
For Profit healthcare program that can raise your rates at will.
But, don’t believe me , go see it with your own eyes.
Tarbell will help.

Wonttakeitanymore

The vax peddlers made over 10 trillion in profits!

Wonttakeitanymore

Cally trying to pass a bill that would cover all illegals and make us all have single payer! The people that make over 49 thousand would pay for it all!

Wonttakeitanymore

And nuisance saying we are a third world country in cally! Wonder why!!

Milosia2 Loc: Cleveland Ohio

Who’s money was that .?
When the next thing out of a republicans mouth is oh no , you Dems just want to spend and spend.
$10trillion here $10 trillion there before you know it you’re talking about enough money for Medicare for All !

Rose42

Despite all your talk democrats have done nothing to fix it when they could have. They won’t because they too are run by lobbyists and corporations. Tulsi Gabbard spoke of it and she was booted early from the weak crop of democrat candidates because of it. The party doesn’t want change.

lindajoy Loc: right here with you....

Yep, a brilliant project of Obama, the fruits of his labor showing and most telling.. Why does any of this surprise you?