Current Problems with the Health Insurance Industry
It appears the declining economic outlook in the United States is starting to affect another important industry - this time it’s health insurance. A major player in health care providers, the UnitedHealth Group recently released their profit report and results were not pretty. The company generally fell short of expectations and is expecting to lose around 700,000 customers this year alone. Following the report, the UnitedHealth Group also sharply cut their overall profit outlook for 2008. Perhaps the main cause of the poor outing can be related to the nation’s weakening economy. Fewer people can afford health insurance and fewer businesses are signing up for their programs. Despite ever increasing medical costs, health insurance companies have remained mostly profitable by maintaining high premiums, a practice which may no longer be sustainable if it continues driving away customers. Many analysts are angst ridden after reading the report, as the UnitedHealth Group was the first major provider to release their profit information and others are expected to have similar results. It should be noted that the UnitedHealth Group has experienced its fair share of turbulence in recent years, following the departure of its chief executive in 2006 who was caught up in an options trading scandal. There’s also been very public criticism from its customers and the medical staffs it contracts for care. Still, investors at other health insurance companies are bracing for the worst and with no sign of improvement in the economy, they probably should be.
How it Affects You
So what does this all mean for you? At the current moment, you probably won’t see too many far reaching affects. If you can still afford health insurance, it’s obviously in your best interest to keep it. Health insurance is extremely important and you never know when you might need it, even if you don’t foresee needing it in the near future. Changes could be on the horizon though, as many analysts believe politicians will be taking notice of the growing number of people without health insurance in the United States. It’s possible that they could eventually ask private insurance companies to play a role in some type of universal health care. Health insurance companies would gain thousands of new customers and more people would have access to coverage. However, this type of arrangement seems to be a ways off and there’s certainly no guarantee it will ever come to fruition. So for now, keep that health insurance for as long as you can afford it and hope that there’s help coming from the government sooner or later.
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