The chief executives of UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna and Elevance were pilloried on the Hill Thursday for care denials, vertical consolidation and sky-high executive compensation.
“Unconscionable.” “Criminal.” “Just plain wrong.”
Those are some of the words that members of Congress used to describe health insurance companies during two hearings on Thursday — hearings that often turned contentious as lawmakers pilloried the CEOs of some of the largest U.S. payers for profiting at the the expense of average Americans.
The chief executives of UnitedHealth, CVS, Cigna, Elevance and Ascendiun were barraged with questions and criticism about care denials, market concentration and their multi-million dollar pay packages at a time when millions of Americans are losing health insurance.
You have put profits above patients. And you have put profits above those who care for patients,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., during the hearing in front of the House Ways and Means Committee. “You have squarely abused your position of authority to deliver healthcare to patients in this country.”
Payer executives — Stephen Hemsley, the CEO of UnitedHealth; David Joyner, the CEO of CVS; David Cordani, the CEO of Cigna; and Gail Boudreaux, the CEO of Elevance — admitted that they could be doing more to improve affordability and access.
However, the CEOs attempted to deflect blame, arguing that other actors in the healthcare system, especially hospitals and drug companies, are responsible for higher costs.
The notable outlier was Paul Markovich, the chief executive of Ascendiun, the nonprofit parent company of the largest California Blues plan.
Health insurers are focused on profits just as much as everyone else, Markovich said in his prepared testimony.
“Our healthcare system is bankrupting and failing us,” Markovich said, adding that participants in the system — including health plans — have put profits ahead of patients or remained complacent about the complexity they’ve created.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that the system will not fix itself. The healthcare system needs some tough love and clear direction and the American government is in the best position to provide both,” he said.
‘The patient gets screwed’
The insurance CEOs found few allies over their marathon day of testimony, in front of the Energy and Commerce’s health subcommittee in the morning and the full Ways and Means committee in the afternoon.
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