Why the ACA is the death knell of for-profit health insurance

[Geoff R. Casavant]

7. That 15-20% doesn't represent only profit

It's overhead (advertising, employee compensation and costs, rent, utilities, etc.) and profit. I think most insurance companies already pay around 75-80% of general revenues in actual care so basically you're looking at a bump of 5% or so. The overhead stuff can't really be reduced much without the kind of adverse effect on business that loses customers, so it comes out of profit.

I think your reasoning may be off in your second sentence -- the only real source of revenue for a health insurance company is what is paid in premiums, so the more they spend on care, the less there is for profit.