Did anyone catch the earnings reports today by the five biggest health insurance companies in the U.S.? Their earnings are all at record historic levels, up from 39% to 48% over last year. The health insurers profits were terrific, but the whole healthcare industry has been the top business sector performer in the stock market this year, and not by a small margin. All this in an ecponomy which is stumbling along towards a very fragile recovery.

Now how did this happen, do you think? I don't know about you, but within weeks after the healthcare bill (ObamaCare) was passed last year, my premiums from United Healthcare were increased by 11%, my annual deductible was increased by $500, and my copays for the most common procedures were increased by $5. There was a couple dollar increase in my Medicare premium, but no changes that I could determine in either deductibles or co-pays. If I had a choice of having a Medicare-like secondary policy available, it wouldn't take me long to bail out of United Heathcare.

I can't bail out of course, because the bill called "ObamaCare" doesn't provide for a single-payer public option. Not only was that idea blocked in the final negotiations, but the health insurers were assured that they'd get all the business insuring the 30-40 million people who will now be insured under ObamaCare. I'm pretty sure that President Obama wanted the expansion of healthcare insurance for the uninsured. But I also am quite certain that he was not in favor of steering all that profitable new business into the hands (and pockets) of a handful of large health insurance companies.

I know there are a number of you on this forum who are steadfast believers that the private sector is always the best provider of services which are commonly provided by governments in all of the world's developed countries. Even though the health of the residents of those countries is both better and cheaper than what we have with mostly private sector control here in the U.S.

Yeah, yeah, I know why the Republicans unanimously voted down a public option. It's called massive campaign contributions by the health insurance companies, drug companies and hospitals. So I know the bill was a heckuva good deal for the members of Congress who were instrumental in creating the legislation.

But tell me again, how is our reliance on the private sector for health insurance a good deal for me? Or for you, for that matter. Or the country as a whole?