On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing the US health insurance industry.
The recent killing of UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson has revealed the growing anger about the broken healthcare system. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the country's largest health insurers have raked in more than $371 billion in profits, according to The Lever's Helen Santoro. She writes that more than 40 percent of that net income went to UnitedHealth Group, whose annual profits have skyrocketed by nearly 400 percent as the company now reportedly denies nearly one in three medical claims from its policyholders.
According to a Gallup survey, 62 percent of Americans say the federal government should ensure all Americans have health coverage.
Guests:
Maureen Tkacik, investigations editor at the American Economic Liberties Project
Dr. Henry Abrons, physician, past-president of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, and advisory board member of Physicians for a National Health Program
Resources:
The American Prospect: The Final Boss of Our Medical Misery
The Guardian: US trails developed democracies in healthcare costs for older adults
The Lever: Health Insurers’ $371 Billion Windfall
