Almost true, with one significant difference. Insurance companies actually make their money by taking the money they receive in premiums and investing it until they have to use it to pay claims. The HMO's income is based only partially on premiums, and primarily based on the return on their investments. Which is why you have seen premiums increase while payments to doctors decrease -- the insurance companies have not been making as much money on their investments, thus they are making up the difference by increasing the premiums. The increased premiums have nothing to do with the cost of medical care increasing.

With one exception: Pharmaceuticals. The investment portfolios of the HMOs are heavy into the drug companies, which makes sense because they are usually good investments. However, what this means is that the HMOs will prefer drug-based "cures" because that increases the demand for drugs which increases the value of their investments.

Thus, the non-drug treatments for disease, such as diet and lifestyle changes, as well as prevention measures which do not involve taking drugs, will receive little more than lip service from the HMOs, because such measures would, if implemented on a large scale, devalue the HMO's investments, thus decrease their profits.

As I said before, Spawn of the Bowels of Satan.