Democratic Underground - Beleve me many of us knew what they are all about! They care nothing for human beings just profit!

Inducement to ration care is the very point of any HMO scheme as stated by US Supreme Court decision:

http://www.getbetterhealth.com/hmos-profit-from-rationing-care/2009.07.31

Justice Souter wrote the opinion for the Court, in which he said:

Like other risk bearing organizations, HMOs take steps to control costs. are specific financial incentives to physicians, rewarding them for decreasing utilization of healthcare services, and penalizing them for excessive treatment. Hence, an HMO physician�s financial interest lies in providing less care, not more�.nducement to ration care is the very point of any HMO scheme and rationing necessarily raises some risks while reducing others�Congress, which promoted the formation of HMOs for 27 years, may choose to restrict its approval to certain preferred forms, but the Judiciary would be acting contrary to congressional policy if it were to entertain an ERISA fiduciary claim portending wholesale attacks on existing HMOs solely because of their structure.

And profits for California:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112837.php

California HMOs made $4.3 billion in profits in the last year and spent $6 billion on administrative costs, according to a California Medical Association annual report released Tuesday, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports. The report is based on expenditures reported to the state Department of Managed Health Care.

.....

Florida:

http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/03/16/story9.html

� Humana Medical Plan Inc., with a $165.5 million profit, up 27 percent from $130.4 million for the same period in 2007. Humana spokeswoman Nancy Hanewinckel said the No. 1 key to the company�s profitability has been its growth in membership, plus an emphasis on preventive care.

� Aetna Health Inc., the state�s largest insurer, had a $91 million profit, up 27.3 percent from $71.5 million for the same period in 2007. Walt Cherniak, Aetna�s spokesman, said the company benefited from strong membership growth and a 13 percent increase in earnings per share.

� Avmed Inc., with a $43 million profit, down 2 percent from $43.8 million for the same period in 2007. Executives could not be reached for comment.

:hi:

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