WellPoint CEO blames policy price increases on doctors, hospitals and drug companies

About the Author

Richard Meyer is a passionate Internet DTC marketer with over 15 years of progressive experience in consumer marketing who`s worked on top pharmaceutical brands like Cialis, Prozac and Sarafem, as well as two years with Medtronic Diabetes. He is currently consulting for his own company, Online Strategic Solutions, and writes a DTC column for PM 360 magazine and blogs for Eye for Pharma in addition to his own blog, World of DTC Marketing.

The increases in premiums are driven by prices charged by doctors, hospitals, drug companies and other suppliers, and by increases in the use of health care by an aging population, according to WellPoints CEO. She also said the increases were necessary because healthy people were going without insurance while people who are not in good health chose to purchase health insurance.

It’s not our fault ! WellPoint’s CEO blamed everyone else for policy increases and justified the profit that WellPoint made by saying “it was a small percentage of policy premiums”. So the politicians continue to grab headlines by getting on the side of the public who is fed up with big business who seems to screw consumers at every turn.

The real issue that has to be addressed is; does an insurer have the right to make record profits and then raise healthcare premiums ? The answer to that is that in a democracy yes. The US is the the only country that has “for profit” health care but human nature being what it is can for profit coexist with the best patient care they can provide?

We here via the press horror stories about people being denied coverage or having their policies cancelled for seemingly trivial reasons but for every person who has a horror story there are probably 20 who are satisfied with their health insurance. The issue therefor is going to come down to “how much is enough?”

Health insurance coverage is a complex debate that is not as black and white as some would have us believe. WellPoint’s CEO rakes in millions of dollars in compensation while too many people go without health insurance. It’s easy to point the finger at others but perhaps before you do that you should take a look at yourself and your perks and salary before hand. I could not, in good conscious take a million dollar salary while people were struggling to choose between eating and paying for health insurance. Surely the richest nation in the world can put aside their differences to come together to ensure that people don’t have to make such a hard choice.