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Anthem Blue Cross wants to raise rates for its California customers by up to 39%, which has caused (not surprisingly) an uproar. There was a House hearing on this yesterday. During the hearing, Angela Bray, who is president of Wellspring, which owns Anthem Blue Cross, said that ""Because of our role in health care, it is often insurers who have to deliver the bad news regarding spiraling health care costs." She blamed the increase (according to the article) on "...growing price tags for hospital care and pharmaceuticals. She also cited the ailing economy, which has caused many younger, healthier people to save money by dropping coverage, leaving her company covering an older, sicker population."
Representative Waxman, from California, asked Ms. Bray how much she received in yearly compensation from Wellspring -- which turns out to be around $10 million. In fact, Waxman pointed out, "39 Anthem company executives received salaries of $1 million or more." It also seems that Anthem/Wellspring spent $27 million in 2007 and 2008 on over a hundred "executive retreats" at resorts. Wellspring also reported a $2.7 billion profit in the fourth quarter of 2009.
This is the problem with for-profit healthcare. It becomes all about the corporate executives making outrageous salaries and the company making a profit. The welfare of their customers isn't even on their radar.
Representative Waxman, from California, asked Ms. Bray how much she received in yearly compensation from Wellspring -- which turns out to be around $10 million. In fact, Waxman pointed out, "39 Anthem company executives received salaries of $1 million or more." It also seems that Anthem/Wellspring spent $27 million in 2007 and 2008 on over a hundred "executive retreats" at resorts. Wellspring also reported a $2.7 billion profit in the fourth quarter of 2009.
This is the problem with for-profit healthcare. It becomes all about the corporate executives making outrageous salaries and the company making a profit. The welfare of their customers isn't even on their radar.