A new study (here and here) highlights the extent to which life and health insurance companies are invested in the fast food industry. Even as the recent health care bill increases, by mandates the number of people covered by private health care,U.S.,Canadian and European-based insurance firms own nearly $2 billion in fast food stocks. The study points out that fast food can be consumed responsibly but that consumption is linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease and some childhood health issues.
These are for profit companies so what would you expect? It’s sort of a life insurance profitability hedge fund perhaps.
The researchers, affiliated with Physicians for a National Health Program say this highlights the conflicts that may exist between maximizing profit and the expanding public health role of private health insurers. They state: “If insurers are to play a greater part in the health care delivery system they ought to be held to a higher standard of corporate responsibility."
U.S.-based Northwestern Mutual and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company both offer life insurance as well as disability and long-term care insurance. Northwestern Mutual owns $422.2 million of fast-food stock, with $318.1 million of McDonald's. Mass Mutual owns $366.5 million of fast-food stock, including $267.2 in McDonald's.
New Jersey-based Prudential Financial Inc. sells life insurance and long-term disability coverage. With total fast-food holdings of $355.5 million, Prudential Financial owns $197.2 of stock in McDonald's and also has significant stakes in Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box, and Yum! Brands (owner of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell) stock.
I’m not surprised. They are selling visits and technology and tests and medicines… not health. An insurance provider wouldn’t be very profitable if it really was into promoting and selling healthy life styles. Healthy people typically need doctors for routine and boring things.
Its the dramatic and expensive things that true ‘insurance’ should cover – accidents, emergency room visits, freak diseases, sickness, etc. etc.
We’re bombarded with ads by the bad food industry.
What about equal time???
If we ran ads about eating well, we’d be “’60s hippies against everything,” but it’s OK to spend unlimited bucks encouraging people to rot their hearts, bodies, and minds!
The banks sold investments to one group, while selling bets that the investments would fail to another group, knowing full well that the investments were structured to fail. Since they collect very lucrative fees on all the transactions, and make zillions when the investments fail due to their own hedging, they make money on both sides.
This is the same thing, but designed to benefit insurers instead of investment bankers. They make money regardless of your health. In fact, since they are magicians at creating reasons for care denial, they actually make more money if you consume more of the bad stuff in which they invest.