[Bethinflorida]

god bless them! they know how to make money thats for sure! but why deny patients access to the latest drugs, which are better with fewer side effects, then pushing patients to generic, which for some don't work as well.

also, why deny essential treatments for some patients, and put doctors thru endless red take to obtain authorization?

im all for free markets and capitalism. but i think it should come a limit, where the patients don't have to be the ones on the short end of the stick, at the expense of making 15.2 billion dollar profit.

** and this does not pertain to VHC or UHC Villages** just speaking for United Healthcare in general

UnitedHealth Group Reports 2017 Results Highlighted by Continued Strong and Diversified Growth | Business Wire

[retiredguy123]

I don't have United Healthcare, but I think most drug plans will require patients to use generic drugs, when they are available. They are less expensive, and supposed to be as effective as the name brands.

[champion6]

Do YOU have coverage provided by UHC?

If you do, and you believe in free markets and capitalism, then you know that YOU can CHANGE to another provider. You can even change to a different plan with UHC - they offer many.

But do not change to a company that is not making a profit. That company will eventually go out of business.

I'm not coming down on you. My opinion of medical insurance is, "It's a jungle out there."

[dewilson58]

a 5% margin is thin.

I would hate the risk & exposure for 5%.

[PPLEPEU]

I’m no fan of United Healthcare, but I do believe it is deceptive to simply state a company’s profits in terms of dollars without also quoting their sales volume.

So, expressed as a percent, here are some examples of NET PROFIT as a percentage of annual sales:
- United Healthcare is at 5.5%
- Apple’s net margin is 22%
- General Motors’ is -3.26%
- Amazon’s Net Profit is 3.02%
- Exxon Oil’s is 6.7%
- 3M’s is 13.5%
- Dow Chemical’s is 2.6%
- Walmart’s is 1.02%
- The average net profit for the Fortune 500 is 9.0%

It’s pretty hard to identify the sinners from the do-gooders based on the profit they make, especially when you only look at raw dollars.

But, based on list above, United Healthcare may not have been zealous ENOUGH about generating profit.

[valuemkt]

I'm sure a government run healthcare business would be much more efficient and deliver cheaper drugs and healthcare ..... NOT !!!!

[simpilot]

Another way of looking at that is that it amounts to about $100 per subscriber. $100 isn't going to buy much additional healthcare.

[SFSkol]

Originally Posted by PPLEPEU

I’m no fan of United Healthcare, but I do believe it is deceptive to simply state a company’s profits in terms of dollars without also quoting their sales volume.

So, expressed as a percent, here are some examples of NET PROFIT as a percentage of annual sales:
- United Healthcare is at 5.5%
..........

It’s pretty hard to identify the sinners from the do-gooders based on the profit they make, especially when you only look at raw dollars.

But, based on list above, United Healthcare may not have been zealous ENOUGH about generating profit.

Yep. You must look behind to see what the numbers actually represent. I remember when the oil companies were criticized by huge profits during the gas shortage. In later years their substantial losses were due to capital expenditures.

I'm sure a government run healthcare business would be much more efficient and deliver cheaper drugs and healthcare ..... NOT !!!!

And the source of your proof of this is.....

[biker1]

I can only speak of my own experiences. I have United Health Care (I am not on Medicare yet) and they have been fine. Every Dr. I have wanted to see has been "in-network". I have not seen any "red tape". My wife and I have each had to have a couple of surgeries and there was no issue with where we wanted to have them done (and they were not done locally). I appealed one uncovered drug and they agreed and covered the cost at 100%. My only issue is I need to check the claims (on-line) for accuracy as there have been a couple of issues but the errors were corrected forthwith.

Do you actually use UHC for health care insurance and do you have some personal examples to share to support your criticisms?

Originally Posted by Bethinflorida

god bless them! they know how to make money thats for sure! but why deny patients access to the latest drugs, which are better with fewer side effects, then pushing patients to generic, which for some don't work as well.

also, why deny essential treatments for some patients, and put doctors thru endless red take to obtain authorization?

im all for free markets and capitalism. but i think it should come a limit, where the patients don't have to be the ones on the short end of the stick, at the expense of making 15.2 billion dollar profit.

** and this does not pertain to VHC or UHC Villages** just speaking for United Healthcare in general

UnitedHealth Group Reports 2017 Results Highlighted by Continued Strong and Diversified Growth | Business Wire