Health and life insurance companies in the US and abroad have nearly $4.5 billion invested in tobacco stocks, according to Harvard doctors.
It’s the combined taxidermist and veterinarian approach: either way you get your dog back,” says David Himmelstein, an internist at the Harvard Medical School and co-author of a letter published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The largest tobacco investor on the list, the 160-year old Prudential company with branches in the US and the UK, has more than $1.5 billion invested in tobacco stocks. The runner-up was Toronto-based Sun Life Financial, which apparently holds over $1 billion in Philip Morris (Altria) and other tobacco stocks. In total, seven companies that sell life, health, disability, or long-term care insurance, have major holdings in tobacco stock.
Why is it a big deal? “If you own a billion dollars [of tobacco stock], then you don’t want to see it go down,” says Himmelstein, “You are less likely to join anti-tobacco coalitions, endorse anti-tobacco legislation, basically, anything most health companies would want to participate in.”
But with $4.5 billion still invested in Big Tobacco, many insurers are reaping profits from a cancer-causing industry. As Himmelstein puts it, “Is this who we want running our healthcare system?”
Well Surprise, Surprise! Citizens of the United States might want to keep this sort of thing in mind when evaluating the upcoming debate on universal health care. These are the exact same “conservative thinkers” who are dead set against Obama’s push toward universal health care.
One of these days, Americans are going to wake up and start smelling the coffee. These jerks, spending hundreds of millions of your very own health dollars to convince you adequate health care coverage is some sort of Communist plot, actually do have an unbelievably large financial incentive to keep you sick and paying ridiculous amounts of greenbacks to get well.
Thanks, Cinaed
#40, Mr. Fusion,
The video clip Liberty lover provided raised some extremely important and relevant points. You are a complete tool for essentially ignoring the video he posted and then calling him names.
You might also notice that Glenn Beck wasn’t on during that entire clip…something you might have noticed if you actually watched it.
Eideard, you are an idiot. The government makes a killing from the taxation of addictive substances. So what makes you think that it has any real interest in getting people to quit either. If you want to look at which side has the most incentive to decrease tobacco consumption, at least the private insurers are incentivized to reduce the cost of treating these drug addicts, the government could probably care less.
#41, He is notorious for attacking the source before he even listens to anything or anyone. If it hasn’t be vetted by “Obamabots R Us” it’s a lie, pure and simple.
#41 & 43, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,
A video is NOT a source of unbiased material. The title of the clip is:
Glenn Beck Clips 06-05–09 Auto Takeover Will be Worse Than Than AMTRAK and Last Forever
It is easy to be a FOX host when all you do is invent crap and invite guests that agree with you. Rarely do any of these guests actually provide any reference material to back up their claims. THEY ARE JUST FUCKING TALKING HEADS for crying out loud!!!
As so many times the wing nuts have countered that Beck, O’Reilly, Hannity, and their ilk on FOX are just spouting opinion. Since this is what you consider reliable news, then it is no wonder you kids today are so ignorant.
qb said “A lot of Americans feel like Mike….”
MikeN said: “Most people believe this? That’s a surprise to me.”
This explains a lot.
#45, qb,
Thanks for the smile.
Switzerland figured out how to do “socialized” medicine. The fact that no one here is studying how they did it predicts our epic & repeated FAIL.
95 percent of things work great in capitalism but for-profit, commercial health insurance is not one of them. They can, and do, cherry-pick their customers. Too many folks get left out in the cold.
#47 – And just think, this is accomplished with only a 60% tax rate (for 2009) and a VAT of up to 8%.
#44, Mr. “I WANT to believe in the change”,
A video is NOT a source of unbiased material.
http://tinyurl.com/aflkuz
This guy has credentials that rival any of the republicrat talking heads. Perhaps you should be a little less biased to
Obamabots-R-Us
#48, Damn, only 68%? That ain’t bad!
48, 50,
Switzerland – 15-25% tax rate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_rates_around_the_world#List
But, good try…
We need to get rid of private health insurance here like the Swiss have. But we don’t need to fall into their VAT trap to do it. Our capitalism is superb at finding the right price points for commodities. A VAT distorts price points, is counterproductive & ultimately inefficient.
Incidentally, the Swiss still have a thriving private health insurance industry, but it deals only with supplemental stuff that you pay for yourself if you feel like it.
But unfortunately the private health insurance industry here in the U.S. is too well entrenched, runs the show, & will not be excised in our lifetimes.
For an excellent analysis of the need for health care reform, I recommend Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman’s “Conscience of a Liberal,” W. H. Norton, 2007, ISBN 978-0-393-06069-0. Instead of a million “what if” scenarios, the book cites actual numbers and confirmed facts. Your local library probably has a copy. (Dewey decimal listing 339.22 KRU 2007)
#47, 95 percent of things work great in capitalism but for-profit, commercial health insurance is not one of them. They can, and do, cherry-pick their customers. Too many folks get left out in the cold.
It will be no different under socialized medicine. Just ask Daschle.
52,
“Incidentally, the Swiss still have a thriving private health insurance industry, but it deals only with supplemental stuff that you pay for yourself if you feel like it.”
Canada has the same dealio. My workplace supplements provincial care with small things. Like an Air-Cast for broken bones. A plaster cast would be free along with the entire visit, but the Air-Cast would cost me $140. Not a huge deal, but my insurance covers that.
# 51 Named said, “Switzerland – 15-25% tax rate.
But, good try…”
Plus 18% transaction tax on real estate deals & many other taxes not listed in “wiki”
But, good try…
#22, Just when I thought they should start treating individuals the same way they treat the employers, they turn it around and take the tax break away from the employer-supplied insurance. Brilliant.
http://tinyurl.com/llkae6
This also, incidentally, moves more people into a higher income tax bracket.
56,
You forgot to include the various tax breaks they get which make it a tax haven for many, oh, Americans?
Paddy-O, why don’t you change your name again and try once more…
56,
Oh, and after all that, it’s still less than the US.
#47, Switzerland figured out how to do “socialized” medicine.
I’ve been trying find the information on that but it doesn’t really look socialized (perhaps my google-foo isn’t up to par). It looks more like everybody, by law, has to have insurance.
In fact, the national health directorate “seeks to promote people’s awareness and thereby enable them to take responsibility for their own health.”
Where is the socialization part at?