[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19564]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       INSURANCE COMPANY PROFITS

  (Mr. STUPAK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, right now just about 60 percent of Americans 
receive their health insurance from their employer. But from 2000 to 
2007, the annual health insurance premium for employers and employees 
rose from $6,628 to $12,153. The average worker's share of premiums 
grew by 116 percent, and the average employer's share rose by 75 
percent, while wages only went up 4 percent.
  Americans can no longer afford health insurance through the insurance 
company. In fact, a recent study found that 73 percent of all Americans 
who seek an individual insurance policy do not end up purchasing one, 
either because they were turned down due to preexisting conditions or 
their premiums were unaffordable.
  Mr. Speaker, all Americans should be entitled to health insurance. 
But according to the SEC, Security and Exchange Commission, filings 
from 2000 to 2007, profits at the top ten publicly traded health 
insurance companies rose an astonishing 428 percent, from $2.4- to 
$12.9 billion.
  Get the excessive profit out of health care. Provide health care for 
all Americans.

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