quote:

ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

If its gross profit, then, no, it doesnt include bonuses and such.

If its net profit, then, typically, it does.

Here is a link to Aetna's profit margin in 2005

"HMO blue had the weakest financial performance of any plan. It barely broke even on an underwriting

basis, but its strong investment gains produced a net profit. Financial results at both HMO Blue and

BCBSMA were lower than in previous years."

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sanity


Looks like we've been getting some bad spin.

quote:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Quick quiz: What do these enterprises have in common? Farm and construction machinery, Tupperware, the railroads, Hershey sweets, Yum food brands and Yahoo? Answer: They're all more profitable than the health insurance industry. In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making "immoral" and "obscene" returns while "the bodies pile up."

Ledgers tell a different reality. Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones.

Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of some of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.

(Full article here).