Dying to Make a Profit: The Conflict of Interest that Publicly Traded Health Insurance Companies Don't Want You to Know!

The American health insurance industry may well have accomplished one of the greatest triumphs of rhetoric over common sense in recorded history. They have successfully convinced the public, and perhaps even themselves, that not even the people’s own government cares about their health as much as they do. At the same time, they express openly in the strongest terms their commitment to deliver increasing value to their shareholders. a They believe – and want America to believe – that they can serve two masters, and do so with integrity.

But the reality of this impossible task is finally catching up with the industry. One of the tools public insurance companies use to hide the depth of their corporate split personality crumbled under the weight of a significant Supreme Court ruling several years ago. b Now the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are forcing insurance companies to lay their cards on the table, as it were, and openly admit what common sense should have made obvious: they have been attempting for years to serve two masters. Like Archie in the classic comic book series, they must now choose between Veronica and Betty. The days of “playing the field” are coming to an end. The wife is about to meet the mistress.