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Greed thrives in our health care system
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| Parent(s) |
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Apr 28, 2006 05:45pm |
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| Category | Commentary |
| Media | Newspaper - Madison Capital Times |
| News Date | Tuesday, April 25, 2006 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Here's another one to remember when someone tells you that our "private" health care system works:
The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story last week with the headline that said it all: "As Patients, Doctors Feel Pinch, Insurer's CEO Makes a Billion."
The story, datelined Minnetonka, Minn., was about William McGuire, a doctor who stopped practicing in 1986 to take a management job with UnitedHealth Group Inc., one of the largest HMOs in the country.
He's now the chief executive officer of the corporation, makes $8 million a year in salary plus bonus, has personal use of the company's private jet and has amassed what the Journal describes as "one of the largest stock options fortunes of all time."
On one hand we have Medicare, which provides universal single-payer coverage to all Americans over age 65 at about a 2 percent administrative cost. On the other hand we have a hodge-podge of plans with layer after administrative layer that gobbles up close to 20 percent in overhead costs (Dr. McGuire's just a piece of that) and leaves millions out in the cold. |
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