A reader responds to Conover’s analysis of CEO compensation’s effect on health insurance costs:
Well of course the compensation for just one executive in one year at a healthcare insurance company is only a small number per covered live, since they insure millions of people. But it’s very appropriately emblematic of the situation: add up all of the excessive compensation for all employees (e.g. most of the management, or the whole company, if you believe them completely unnecessary). One could throw in dividends paid to stock holders as well. Regardless of how conservative an estimate one makes, it does start to add up. It does ALL add to the cost of health care, since not one cent you pay to an insurance company that they do NOT then pay to doctors, clinics, etc. is money effectively wasted. And since that overhead is well over 30% for most insurers, it’s billions of dollars nationwide.
It’s also emblematic in the picture of greed. If executives at healthcare insurance companies get paid so much, it’s clear they don’t give a flying frog about the health and well-being of the 99%. They’re simply in it for greed and more greed. Tar and feather them all, I say.
