Competition levels drop for health insurance markets across 25 states

CHICAGO — Half of all states had commercial health insurance markets that were less competitive in 2017 than during the previous year, based on data from a newly updated study of competition in the U.S. health insurance industry issued by the American Medical Association (AMA).

“The AMA continues to urge that competition, not consolidation, is the right prescription for health insurance markets,” said AMA President Barbara L. McAneny, M.D. “The slide toward insurance monopolies has created a market imbalance that disadvantages patients and favors powerful health insurers. The prospect of future mergers involving health insurance companies should raise serious antitrust concerns. There is already too little competition among insurers, to the detriment of patients. Networks are already too narrow, and premiums are already too high.”