Re: Re: Investing in Healthcare ~ A Dilemma

[Guest guest]

Brady's comments about someone making money by investing in insurance companies with unethical practices, raises the issue of contracting with these companies in one's practice (I don't),

or, for that matter, using them for family insurance coverage (I do), along with investing in them financially (I don't think I do, although I do own some mutual funds that I don't closely follow which individual stocks they own).

Boundaries have to be drawn somewhere, of course, and I'm not criticizing any thoughtful decisions, but the question seemed to be begging to be asked.

Pamela, my mother would never cheat at Monopoly, but then she's living mostly off of social security now.

Sharon

Sharon McCoy MDRenaissance Family Medicine10 McClintock Court; Irvine, CA  92617PH: (949)387-5504   Fax: (949)281-2197  Toll free phone/fax:  www.SharonMD.com

 

Enjoying the insights thus far. My mom does not have a favorable

opinion of insurance companies, but she enjoys winning at their game

I guess you can say. Get this: When I was young and we played monopoly

she ALWAYS wanted to be banker and ALWAYS won because she kept

sneaking extra out of the bank. For her it's a survival thing. Ethics play

no part in the money game for her.

I don't fear being destitute (my mom says she doesn't want to worry about me

from her grave) but the idea of unethical investments really is disturbing

to me.

Anyone on the listserve invested in for-profit insurance companies?

Pamela

>

> Pamela,

>

> Good for your mom. Bad for society. Why is it that working as a

> psychiatrist, or a FP, or a Internist (any primary care) is not good enough

> to assure that you will not die poor and destitute? Why is it that playing

> with money (thought the stock market) can make you a ton of money, but

> working with people can leave you with nothing? How is it that one of our

> Presidential candidates made 100s of millions of dollars by working 10 years

> in business while in the same amount of time newly minted physicians will

> not be able to even pay off their student loans?

>

> These are vexing questions which get to the heart of the issues in a money

> driven, money loving society. My question to you is whether your mother has

> a favorable opinion of the insurance company and its business practices now

> that they made her millions? Can someone continue to hate the very entity

> that helps to sustain them? Philosophically (not that I really think these

> are your only choices), which do you fear more-not being able to retire and

> dying poor and destitute or compromising on your integrity and investing in

> a company which knows how to make money even if you do not agree with their

> practices?

>

>

>

>

>

> From:

> [mailto: ] On Behalf Of roxywible

> Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 10:19 PM

> To:

> Subject: Investing in Healthcare ~ A Dilemma

>

>

>

>

>

> My mom is a retired psychiatrist who was put out of business

> by insurance companies. She then invested her money in the

> very insurance companies who put her out of business and is

> now a millionaire.

>

> This means: My college and medical school was funded by

> insurance companies.

>

> I accept most insurance in my practice and I am

> a preferred provider for many.

>

> My dilemma: I have resistance to investing money back into

> the for-profit insurance industry. I have nothing in the stock

> market because I do not find any socially-responsible funds

> socially responsible enough for me. So my mom worries I will

> be poor and destitute . . .

>

> Has anyone else out there in the world felt such feelings and would

> you be willing to share your thoughts - publicly or privately . . .

>

> Thank you in advance.

>

> ~ Pamela

>

> (roxywible@... <mailto:roxywible%40comcast.net> )

>

> Pamela Wible, MD

> 3575 St. #220

> Eugene, OR 97405

>

> www.idealmedicalcare.org

>

> " (S)He is the best physician who is the most ingenious inspirer of hope. "

> ~ Coleridge

>

[Guest guest]

I have always believed the idea of “ethical†investing as superfluous. For the most part, it is nearly impossible to micro-inspect the management and the books of large companies. Almost no one knows one iota about the books of Exxon or Apple or any other company of whose stock they own. For better or for worse, and mostly for the worse, we buy stocks based on our broadest general impressions of a companies performance. On the other hand, rather than twist and turn with respect to judging the ethical behavior of various companies, unquestionably, our greatest responsibility is to our own financial well being. Our paramount responsibility is building our retirements so that we are not a burden on others some day, and supporting our households so that our children can be responsible contributing citizens of this world, and maybe, even building a sustainable business such as a medical practice. Doing these things is a very tall order all in of themselves, without getting overly worked up about all the potential “ethical†or “unethical†behavior’s of publically traded companies, all of which is beyond any of our meaningful control. Investing for financial performance is a very sensible priority and clearly, hard enough to do without getting overly worked up about things which are likely not even well understood, in context, in the first place.

-WK

From: roxywible

Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 10:54 PM

To:

Subject: Re: Investing in Healthcare ~ A Dilemma

Enjoying the insights thus far. My mom does not have a favorableopinion of insurance companies, but she enjoys winning at their gameI guess you can say. Get this: When I was young and we played monopolyshe ALWAYS wanted to be banker and ALWAYS won because she keptsneaking extra out of the bank. For her it's a survival thing. Ethics playno part in the money game for her.I don't fear being destitute (my mom says she doesn't want to worry about mefrom her grave) but the idea of unethical investments really is disturbingto me. Anyone on the listserve invested in for-profit insurance companies?Pamela>> Pamela,> > Good for your mom. Bad for society. Why is it that working as a> psychiatrist, or a FP, or a Internist (any primary care) is not good enough> to assure that you will not die poor and destitute? Why is it that playing> with money (thought the stock market) can make you a ton of money, but> working with people can leave you with nothing? How is it that one of our> Presidential candidates made 100s of millions of dollars by working 10 years> in business while in the same amount of time newly minted physicians will> not be able to even pay off their student loans? > > These are vexing questions which get to the heart of the issues in a money> driven, money loving society. My question to you is whether your mother has> a favorable opinion of the insurance company and its business practices now> that they made her millions? Can someone continue to hate the very entity> that helps to sustain them? Philosophically (not that I really think these> are your only choices), which do you fear more-not being able to retire and> dying poor and destitute or compromising on your integrity and investing in> a company which knows how to make money even if you do not agree with their> practices?> > > > > > From: mailto:%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:mailto:%40yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of roxywible> Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 10:19 PM> To: mailto:%40yahoogroups.com> Subject: Investing in Healthcare ~ A Dilemma> > > > > > My mom is a retired psychiatrist who was put out of business> by insurance companies. She then invested her money in the > very insurance companies who put her out of business and is> now a millionaire. > > This means: My college and medical school was funded by> insurance companies. > > I accept most insurance in my practice and I am> a preferred provider for many. > > My dilemma: I have resistance to investing money back into> the for-profit insurance industry. I have nothing in the stock> market because I do not find any socially-responsible funds> socially responsible enough for me. So my mom worries I will> be poor and destitute . . .> > Has anyone else out there in the world felt such feelings and would> you be willing to share your thoughts - publicly or privately . . . > > Thank you in advance.> > ~ Pamela> > (roxywible@... <mailto:roxywible%40comcast.net> )> > Pamela Wible, MD> 3575 St. #220 > Eugene, OR 97405> > www.idealmedicalcare.org> > "(S)He is the best physician who is the most ingenious inspirer of hope."> ~ Coleridge>=======Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.(Email Guard: 9.0.0.909, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.19400)http://www.pctools.com======= =======Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.(Email Guard: 9.0.0.909, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.19400)http://www.pctools.com=======