WellPoint and Aetna health insurers post higher profits in 3rd quarter

[Better Believe It]

WellPoint and Aetna post higher profit in 3rd quarter
The insurers say reduced healthcare costs helped boost their earnings.
By Duke Helfand
November 4, 2010

Two of the nation's largest health insurers reported increased profit for the third quarter Wednesday despite falling enrollments, saying reduced healthcare costs helped boost their earnings.

"I am pleased with our operating performance in 2010, which exceeded expectations going into the year," WellPoint Chief Executive Angela F. Braly told analysts in a conference call Wednesday.

Aetna Chief Executive Ronald A. Williams said in a statement that the Hartford, Conn., insurer had outpaced an "unusually weak 2009" so far this year.

"Our strong operating results were driven by a reduction in utilization of health care services after the surge we saw in 2009, combined with appropriate pricing and effective medical quality and cost management," Williams said.

Despite the increased profit, WellPoint and Aetna both saw revenue decline in the third quarter compared with the same period the year before, partly because of shrinking enrollments.

Read the full article at:

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-fi-wellpoint-20101104,0,7954932.story

The Aetna CEO statement means they increased their profits with fewer enrollments because they did a really fantastic job in denying health care service insurance claims and they jacked up their premiums! BBI

[RC]

1. There really is absolutely no excuse for not going to Single Payer, Universal Health Care!

We cannot afford not to. It obvious part of the necessary recovery process.