The idea of a nonprofit business entity is a bizarre one to me--I know they exist, and there are nonprofit hospitals, etc., but it's not clear what difference a nonprofit status makes. Presumably they get tax breaks in exchange for following certain additional onerous regulations. I didn't know any insurers were nonprofits.
Tax breaks, also donations- some quite large, in thecase of hospitals. They also aren’t required to maximize profits. Many older hospitals started off backed by one denomination or another, and university systems are extending in some states- eg the University of Pittsburgh has 40 hospitals and a health insurance division that covers 3 million. Is there a conflict of interest when the hospital is owned by the insurer? Well…I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
A quick web search is telling me about 30% of people in the US are covered by a nonprofit insurer, but I’m having trouble finding a good site with data. IIRC it varies by state; in my home state the largest two insurers are nonprofits. Apparently more insurers used to be nonprofit, but a law in 1994 let them change.
I’ll note that when your insurer is a “nonprofit” they follow the same pattern.
The idea of a nonprofit business entity is a bizarre one to me--I know they exist, and there are nonprofit hospitals, etc., but it's not clear what difference a nonprofit status makes. Presumably they get tax breaks in exchange for following certain additional onerous regulations. I didn't know any insurers were nonprofits.
Tax breaks, also donations- some quite large, in thecase of hospitals. They also aren’t required to maximize profits. Many older hospitals started off backed by one denomination or another, and university systems are extending in some states- eg the University of Pittsburgh has 40 hospitals and a health insurance division that covers 3 million. Is there a conflict of interest when the hospital is owned by the insurer? Well…I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
A quick web search is telling me about 30% of people in the US are covered by a nonprofit insurer, but I’m having trouble finding a good site with data. IIRC it varies by state; in my home state the largest two insurers are nonprofits. Apparently more insurers used to be nonprofit, but a law in 1994 let them change.