High deductibles helped UnitedHealth reach $7 billion in profits in Q2 as a 14-year-old begs for deductible assistance on GoFundMe.
The teenager, Ava Hope, has health insurance, but still can't get the care she needs.
Fourteen-year-old Ava Hope’s life is at stake. Treatment is available, and she has health insurance. But because of unaffordable deductibles and the way UnitedHealth and other insurance companies now dictate how and where patients can be treated, her mother has turned to GoFundMe to beg for $5,000 to cover the deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses United demands her family pay before treatment can begin.
Read about Ava here, know that her situation is no longer unusual, and if you can afford to donate a few bucks, please do. You could help save this beautiful little girl’s life.
Now read what the financial media is saying today about the record profits UnitedHealth Group made between April and June:
UnitedHealth Group’s Profits Top $5 Billion As Optum and Health Plans Grow–UnitedHealth Group’s profits exceeded $5 billion in the second quarter thanks to a strong performance by its Optum health services and its UnitedHealthcare health insurance plans. (Note: The company’s 2Q profits from operations actually exceeded $7 billion. That compares with $6 billion for the same period last year.)
UnitedHealth Group Stock Jumps After Q2 Earnings Beat, Profit Guidance Boost–UnitedHealth Group posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings Friday and lifted its full-year profit forecast…Revenues rose 13% to $80.2 billion, topping analysts’ estimates of $79.68 billion. -- The Street
UnitedHealth Boosts 2022 Profit Forecast Further on Health Services Demand–UnitedHealth Group Inc. raised its full-year profit forecast for a second straight quarter on Friday…UnitedHealth said it now expects 2022 adjusted profits (per share) between $21.40 and $21.90, compared with the $21.20 to $21.70 per share forecast earlier. -- Reuters
UnitedHealth Earnings Easily Beat In Bullish Sign for Leading Group; UNH Stock Rises–UnitedHealth earnings rose 18.5% vs. a year earlier. -- Investor’s Business Daily
By 11:45 a.m. this morning, UnitedHealth’s stock was up 5.42%–$27.23 a share–to $529.66. That means the company’s investors and top executives are much richer today than they were yesterday.
Meanwhile, Americans with insurance are dying every day–or going deep into debt–so that companies like UnitedHealth can make their investors and Wall Street financial analysts happy.
Many Americans, like 14-year-old Ava Hope, might not live to see their next birthday because nothing–nothing–is more important to the insurance industry’s C-Suite than keeping Wall Street happy.
Congress must act NOW to lower out-of-pockets so that the millions of Americans with insurance can actually use it.