SHOULD HEALTH CARE BE A PROFIT MAKING BUSINESS?

http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/30/profitable-hospitals-hca-healthcare-business-mayo-clinic_slide_2.html

Flowers Hospital, Dothan, Ala.235 beds, $389, Del Sol Medical Center, El Paso, Texas, 304 beds, $243, Rochester Methodist Hospital, Rochester, Minn. 336 beds, $446, Saint Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 296 beds, $263, Swedish Medical Center,Englewood, Colo. 296 beds, $447, Doctors Hospital of Augusta, Augusta, Ga. 215 beds, $272, Ohio State University Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, 835 beds, $1.98 billion, Saint Mark’s Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, 250 beds, $283, Northridge Hospital Medical Center, Northridge, Calif. 335 beds, $458, Lutheran Hospital of Indiana, Fort Wayne, Ind. 380 beds, $431, Erlanger Baroness, Chattanooga, Tenn. 521 beds, $400, Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, Hudson, Fla. 268 beds, $185, Sutter Memorial Hospital, Sacramento, Calif. 627 beds, $688, Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 242 beds, , $231.

• In 2009 these fourteen hospitals  boasted $6,716,000,000 (BILLION) in net patient revenues.
• In 2013, HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) had annual revenue of $34 Billion.
• Between April and June 2011, the five largest health insurance companies earned over $3.3 Billion (in one quarter!).
• In July 2013 Humana reported a net income o f$420 million.

• In 2012, the CEO of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois made $16 million.

Medical and surgical product suppliers/manufactureres:

• For the quarter ended Dec. 27, Covidien reported earnings of $398 million 
• In the period ending Jan. 24,2014, Medtronic reported a profit of $762 million.
• In 2013, Baxter had over $2.3 Billion in profits.

These sums total $47,912,000,000 (BILLION) for 24 entities.

Maybe I’m wrong in my thinking, but I believe that health care should NOT be a FOR-PROFIT business.