>Obamacare has a rule that insurers can have a maximum profit margin of 20%. So you have two ways to increase profits in the long run:

>1) Increase number of subscribers. Possible to do, but the market is pretty saturated.

>2) Raise prices of healthcare overall. 20% of larger costs is more than 20% of smaller costs.

The 20% profit margin also has to cover the insurer's operating expenses. After covering the costs, an insurer typically makes 2-3% in profit. Also, the insurance industry in aggregate is typically paying 85%-86% of premiums as medical services, so they still have incentive to negotiate prices with hospitals[0].

The insurance industry is likely to make a greater profit in 2020 due to the pandemic. Consumers have deferred a lot of their medical procedures, but their premiums have stayed the same.

[0]https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/20...