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
#31, Lyin’ Mike,
But for a government that is footing the bill, it makes a difference. Most preventive medicine schemes end up costing money.
Almost every action requires money be spent. Geeze, I spent money to get my garden going, fertilizer, gas for the tiller, seeds, and starter plants. The money I save down the road will be many times what I put out. The enjoyment from eating my own produce will be beyond calculation.
Promoting a healthy life style reaps the same benefits. We spend a little money up front convincing people to eat right. They end up with fewer health costs and enjoy the benefits of their new life style. It is a lot more fun to watch your grandchild play soccer than it is to hear about it later while laying in a hospital bed with an oxygen tube up your nose and a new stent in your heart.
MikeN said: “But for a government that is footing the bill, it makes a difference. Most preventive medicine schemes end up costing money. Consider an infant mortality regime that spends a little bit of money to reduce infant mortality. The total health care costs will be staggering.”
A lot of Americans feel like Mike which explains why the per capita health care costs are double most other countries (~$6000 vs 2000-3000 for western countries), 50-70 million have no coverage (depends how you count it), and an infant mortality rate on par with Croatia’s. Urban myths like MikeN’s would be amusing if wasn’t bankrupting the US both medically and fiscally.
4,
Really? In my communist country with socialized health care, smoking is practically banned from everywhere except your own home.
10,
Paddy-O. Tobacco is one of the most addictive products legally sold. The health insurance invests in it. And then they charge more if you are a smoker. It makes perfect sense that they support it, since they get a higher premium. Or, as CEO of multinationals do you not get that point?
33 Mr. Fusion said, “Most also have a healthier population too.”
Well that won’t last. Tobacco companies are pouring money into third world advertising. A few years ago, while I was in Indonesia, I saw a truck come down the street with music blaring and scantily clad girls on the back tossing packs of cigs to people: men, women, children – no matter.
In SE Asia it is becoming a status symbol to smoke. I’m guessing it shows you are one of the elite who can afford to smoke. Six months ago in Cambodia, my driver offered me a smoke from a pack of Marlboros. I declined as a non-smoker of many years. He put the Marlboros down and picked up a pack of a local brand from which he extracted a smoke for himself. I asked him why two packs? The Marlboros are for guests.
#35, Most people believe this? That’s a surprise to me. I thought most people consider it a fact that preventive medicine would save money. I did until recently.
#33, Mr. “I want to believe in the change,”
http://tinyurl.com/qnm47a
#39, Liberty Loser,
Suggesting Glenn Becks is an expert in anything other than entertainment is a stretch. Come on, really, a TV show with selected guests all jerking off to their own tune?
C’mon out of your mommy’s basement and breathe some fresh air. Beck himself was recently confronted with making crap up on The View. Although he confessed he was wrong, a couple days later he was denying on his show it had ever happened.
#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?
#56, Patrick
“Plus 18% transaction tax on real estate deals …”
That’s too global a statement and is therefore inaccurate as it stands. The tax varies by Canton and by how long the real estate has been owned.
# 51 Named “Switzerland – 15-25% tax rate.” Wikipedia. Undated info.
According to http://tiny.cc/exR6S the rates for 2009 can reach 60%. As Fred stated, the rate varies by Canton but the average, I believe, is around 40%.
Also, I believe they are currently involved in removing many of those tax breaks for expats…
Just tell me how we are going to pay for it. What do we cut out, not how we can raise the money by borrowing or raising taxes.