Amen, brother. I've worked for these non-profits before, and they are essentially profit-making corporations without stockholders. Most charities, "institutes", etc are organized like this. The profits are plowed back into plush careers for those who manage these outfits. This doesn't mean these organizations are necessarily crooked, or that they don't often do good work. But the "non-profit" status has less to do with altruism than it does with tax and legal advantages. Let's not get misty- eyed about not-for-profit. It's just another way to game the system.

Insurance companies add yet another wrinkle. They don't just take in premiums and shell out claims, they are also heavy in the investment business, they are big players in the financial world, banking and stocks. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if providing health care protection wasn't just a secondary line item for them.

Assuming their insurance business barely broke even (and we all know it does much better than that!) they still get to invest our premiums before they actually have to meet any claims. Considering the size of America's health care budget and the billions insurance companies collect in premiums, think of it as the world's (and history's) single largest interest-free loan. No wonder they don't want the government to get a piece of it, and no wonder their pals in the financial community are fighting alongside them to keep things just as they are.

American health care is the biggest piece of the biggest economy in the world. Those who own it are not going to give any of it up without a fight, and they will stop at nothing.