Until now little has been known about the quality of care in investor-owned plans. Hence, investor-owned HMOs spent significantly less for patient care. The quest for profit endangers medical care. The more money that goes for profit, the less goes on health care.
Fewer data are likely to be available in the future.
The NCQA reports that lower quality plans are most likely to refuse public release of their data. It's time to end our race to the bottom in health care and implement nationwide quality improvement and universal coverage through single-payer national health insurance.