Health Insurance Companies Rake in Billions While Health Care Is Ignored
The Socialist Program with Brian Becker
The Socialist Program
4.7 • 588 Ratings
🗓️ 18 December 2024
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today's episode Nicole Roussell and Prof. Richard Wolff unpack the news that health insurance companies raked in $9 trillion since 2010--including $120 billion to shareholders--while denying the health care that people pay dearly for.
Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | United Health and other major health insurance companies have made huge profits even after the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. |
| 0:08.4 | Since that time, the biggest insurance companies have put $120 billion, that's $120 billion with a B, back into their company's stock to enrich shareholders and themselves. |
| 0:20.7 | And $54 billion of that, so almost half, |
| 0:23.7 | was just United Health Group alone. |
| 0:26.4 | We need a new system. |
| 0:28.5 | We need a new society. |
| 0:30.4 | We need to demand that which may have sounded impossible even a few weeks ago, but is not |
| 0:35.7 | only realizable, but an imperative necessity. necessity. We are very excited to have Professor Richard Wolfe join us for a regular weekly segment where we discuss the biggest stories relating to the economy, the state of the working class, and the crimes of big business. |
| 1:13.6 | I'm Nicole Roussel, sitting in for your host, Brian Becker. |
| 1:18.2 | The Socialist Program brings you content several days a week, thanks to the support of our patrons at patreon.com slash the Socialist Program. |
| 1:21.1 | We appreciate all of your support and encourage you to become a patron today if you enjoy |
| 1:25.4 | listening to the show. |
| 1:27.3 | Richard Wolf is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many |
| 1:31.5 | books, including Understanding Capitalism, which is now available at Democracy at Work.Info. |
| 1:37.6 | Richard, welcome back to the show. |
| 1:39.3 | Thank you very much, Nicole. Glad to be here. |
| 1:42.5 | So while Americans have been forced to go without health care or pay, |
| 1:47.6 | you know, exorbitant amounts, which has sent a lot of people into bankruptcy, |
| 1:51.5 | United Health Group and other major insurance companies have been raking in money. |
| 1:56.1 | I want to read to you from an article that we were looking at in the lever. It's called |
| 2:00.7 | Health Insurers |
| 2:01.4 | gave $120 billion to shareholders while denying your claim. And I want to get your thoughts. |
... |
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