"The industry's representation that insurance companies spend 87 cents of every premium dollar on medical care is contradicted by its own financial reporting," Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said in a
letter yesterday to CIGNA. "A review of the Securities and Exchange Commission filings of the six largest, publicly-traded health insurers, including CIGNA, shows that not a single one of those companies spent 87 cents of every dollar on medical care for their customers in 2008," the letter states, citing a committee analysis of the percentage of premium dollars insurance companies spend on medical care. The letter asks CIGNA to provide the committee with data by Nov. 9 on the percentage of health insurance premiums it uses to provide health care in the individual, small and large group markets.
