Elizabeth Edwards: President of United Health Care Made Almost $3 Billion a Few Years Ago
Check out the clip below of Elizabeth Edwards on the Daily Show. Start it around the 3:00 mark. She is a policy fellow at the Center for American Progress, where she works on health care reform. In the clip, she says that a few years ago, the president of United Health Care earned so much money, that it worked out to 1 out of every 700 dollars spent in the country on health care. The audience gasped.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | M – Th 11p / 10c | |||
| Elizabeth Edwards | ||||
|
||||
So I turned to my trusty Google, and found that in 2005, health care expenditures in the US were “almost” $2 trillion. So if the president of United Health Care pulled down 1/7ooth of that, he earned about $2.9 billion. Really?
Presumably Mrs. Edwards can come up with some subset of health care expenditures to make her claim accurate. But you know, I’m not sure how. I tried googling “elizabeth edwards president united health care” thinking that somebody would have justified / blew up her absurd claim. This site deals with it, and says “Indeed…” and goes on to point out that some CEOs made upwards of $11 million each.
Soooo, do these writers think that total health care expenditures in any recent year were only $11 million x 700 = $7.7 billion? Off the top of my head, that sounds more like what Americans spend on over the counter medicines, not “health care” in general.
It seems like the policy fellows at Center for American Progress need a remedial course in arithmetic.
I have been a member of AARP health care with United Health Care Co.
For a week I tried to call United healt Care. I got a recording telling me that there will be a long delay. Tht I should use the internet. or call aftrer 6:30 pm.
I tried to log in but I was never given a password. I tried to log in with the membership ID on my card and the reply was ID not recognized.
I called after 6:30 pm and was on hold for 90 minutes with no luck.
I called United health care information and the person that responded told me to call the same number that I have tried for a week. That was the only numbert that she had .
She did not have any other number or suggestions and said she was sorry.
United Health care does much Tv advertising and is incredible to find that United Health Care does not have any one one that would pick up the phone.
They place you on hold until you hung up.
Renzo Agostini