Competition lacking among private health insurers

Competition lacking among private health insurers
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 22, 9:45 am ET

WASHINGTON – One of the most widely accepted arguments against a government medical plan for the middle class is that it would quash competition — just what private insurers seem to be doing themselves in many parts of the U.S.

Several studies show that in lots of places, one or two companies dominate the market. Critics say monopolistic conditions drive up premiums paid by employers and individuals.

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Wellpoint Inc. accounted for 71 percent of the Maine market, while runner-up Aetna had a 12 percent share, according to a 2008 report by the American Medical Association.

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Congressional investigators this year looked at insurers catering to small employers around the country. The Government Accountability Office found that the median — or midpoint — market share of largest carrier increased to 47 percent in 2008 from 33 percent in 2002.

There is never be competition among the insurance companies because they're IMMUNE


Why are we even having this phony debate?


Big Insurance's Competition Immunity


The Sunday morning political talk programs were filled to the brim with health care reform discussions, and central to these discussions is the idea that the insurance industry needs competition. Competition, in the form of a public option or in health care cooperatives, is supposed to level the playing field and bring down premiums for all Americans while providing as close to universal coverage as we can do right now.

There's just one itty bitty, teeny weeny problem. The insurance industry has federal IMMUNITY from competition!

The federal government has not been able to attack the insurance companies through federal anti-trust laws for over 60 years. Under the McCarran-Ferguson Act passed in 1945, insurance companies (and Major League Baseball!) are specifically excluded from federal anti-trust laws as long as the state regulates in that area, and federal anti-trust laws will apply ONLY in cases of boycott, coercion, and intimidation.

Under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, Big Insurance is allowed to collect and SHARE data with each other about claims. With this information, Big Insurance can fix prices, set coverage requirements, outline conditions for coverage denials (like pre-existing conditions), and many, many more.

That's right, folks! Big Insurance can plot together to bring us all down!

http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/8/17/21730/8042

If we don't get a public option everybody can escape into we will all be raped to death.

April 18, 2006
Health insurance is nearing monopoly status in most markets, driving up the cost of insurance, reducing innovation in health care and squeezing doctors and hospitals, an American Medical Association (AMA) report finds.

"The remarkable reduction in the number of competing health plans is troubling for doctors and patients, as competition drives innovation and efficiency in the health care system," said AMA Board Member J. James Rohack, M.D. "Most alarmingly, in the combined HMO and PPO markets, 95 percent of metropolitan areas have few competing health insurers."

In addition, the study found that in 95 percent of markets, a single insurer had a market share of 30 percent or greater, and in 56 percent of the markets, a single insurer had a market share of 50 percent or greater.

The AMA report, Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets, analyzed 294 metropolitan health insurance markets against an index used by federal regulators for measuring market concentration. According to the federal index, markets that are highly concentrated have few competing health insurers.




Health Insurance A Near-Monopoly, Study Finds