If you’re a stockholder of the UnitedHealth Group, life is good. The stock price has doubled in the past five years, jumping from $250 to $513. That’s a 105% increase — something every investor would like to see. Some analysts predict that the stock may jump 31% in the next year and increase more than 200% by 2030.
Dividends are up, too. The company has more than doubled the quarterly dividends it pays to stockholders. The Motley Fool exclaims that “the company’s dividend growth streak is just getting started.”
What about their profits? Well, those are through the roof, too.
UnitedHealth earned $22.3 billion in profits last year. That’s enough money to buy the NY Yankees, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, AND the Los Angeles Lakers, based on their current valuations.
Not bad for one year’s work.
The UnitedHealth Group is mighty good at making money — but all of that profiteering comes with a cost. It’s being paid by their policyholders and the providers who care for them.
When you kick healthcare providers out of network in hopes of saving money, that’s good for the bottom line — but bad for the customers you’re supposed to be insuring and creating healthy medical care choices.
The way United Healthcare is dealing with anesthesiologists in Florida is padding their profits and threatening quality of care. Payors such as United need to have robust networks and should welcome the life-saving services that anesthesiologists bring to the healthcare system.