The health insurance industry likes to cite figures showing that 87 cents of every dollar in premiums is spent on medical claims.
But a new Senate analysis suggests that for-profit insurance companies are spending much less than that, especially for policies sold to individuals and small businesses. Instead, as little as 66 cents of each dollar paid in premiums goes toward doctor and hospital bills, while the rest covers administrative expenses, marketing and company profits, according to the analysis.
The data come from an analysis of regulatory filings by the Senate Commerce Committee from the largest for-profit companies, including WellPoint, the UnitedHealth Group, Aetna and Cigna. They spent about 74 cents out of every dollar on medical care in the individual market, according to the information released by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat, who is chairman of the commerce committee.
The insurers “need to tell us how they are spending their customers’ money,” Mr. Rockefeller said in a statement he released on Monday along with the committee’s analysis. “Are they spending it to make people well when they are sick and keep them healthy?” he asked. “Or is the money they charge going to profits, to executive salaries, and to figuring out how to deny care to people when they really need it?” ...
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