'Octomom' Insurer Is Among Most Profitable

The Kaiser Foundation gained public prominence after Nadya Suleman, the "Octomom," gave birth at the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in Bellflower, California.

But the not-for-profit organization's Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. is also the seventh most profitable U.S. health insurer, with earnings of $202 million, according to an industry-wide analysis. Suleman's hospital bill may swell to $1 million after she delivered octuplets in January, ABC News has reported. She is insured by California's state health plan.

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is rated A-minus, or "excellent," by TheStreet.com Ratings. Kaiser's units generated more than $40 billion in combined premiums in 2007.

Nadya Suleman

In addition to Kaiser, subsidiaries of Humana(HUM Quote), UnitedHealth Group(UNH Quote) and WellPoint(WLP Quote) were among the top 25 most profitable insurance companies in the third quarter, the most recent data show.

WellPoint had 10 insurance subsidiaries in the top 25 from states as diverse as California to New Hampshire. UnitedHealth had five. The most profitable insurer was Health Care Service Corp., a mutual company rated A-plus by TheStreet.com Ratings. It recorded $600 million in net income.