your health insurance premium explained
UnitedHealth’s greed is generating profits
Friday, October 27, 2006
I am sure most Dispatch readers will agree with my disgust in seeing that William McGuire, the recently dismissed chief executive officer of UnitedHealth Group, will be paid $5.1 million per year for the rest of his life ("Ex-UnitedHealth chief set for life," Oct. 17). He will also be given a lump sum of $6.5 million, as well as holding stock options worth $1.78 billion!
I am a small-business owner and a licensed orthotist and prosthetist. We design, manufacture and fit orthotic devices (braces) and prostheses (artificial limbs) as prescribed by physicians. Our clients are typically older citizens on fixed incomes who have suffered amputations. The devices they rely on are very expensive and must be maintained to provide comfort and function.
Approximately two years ago, United Healthcare, the company’s Ohio subsidiary, instituted a yearly maximum benefit for prosthetic and orthotic care of $2,500 for all groups in Ohio with fewer than 50 employees. This is virtually all of "small business," the backbone of the American economy.
We have all read or seen stories of modern technology in prosthetics and orthotics. The recent reports of care being provided to the injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are only one example of the breakthroughs. Some of these prostheses can cost $50,000 or more but provide increased comfort, function and abilities for the user, as well as enhancing the quality of their lives. Even a "conventional" above-the-knee prosthesis costs $15,000 to $20,000. How is a working citizen going to afford the difference between the cost of these services and the paltry limit on coverage being provided to Ohio small businesses who insure with United Healthcare? In addition to the benefits cap, United Healthcare reimburses providers 35 percent below the level that Medicare recipients receive. This is, by the way, 20 percent less than Ohio Medicaid and is often below the provider’s cost to deliver the service.
To make matters worse, United Healthcare has ruthlessly increased the health-insurance premiums yearly, without regard to the effect it has on small business.
It is no wonder that United Healthcare has recorded record profits over the past few years.
And on a final note, a nuclear aircraft carrier costs far less than the value of McGuire’s stock options.
When will we wake up to this kind of greed and say no to companies that operate like this?
RONALD KIDD
Grove City