Local Coalition Asks AG To Investigate Indiana Health Insurance Market
Request Follows Report Detailing Lack of Competition, Soaring Prices
Indianapolis – Health care advocates sent a letter calling on Indiana’s Attorney General to open a comprehensive anti-competitiveness investigation into Indiana’s health insurance marketplace. The request comes in light of a recent report showing that insurers hold virtual monopolies in many communities severely limiting choice for consumers.
The letter from Indiana’s chapter of Health Care for America Now, asks the Indiana Attorney General’s office to “discern the presence of anti-competitive or fraudulent conduct by insurers who can dictate terms to both consumers and providers as well as the role of consummated mergers in creating these conditions.”
The report by Health Care for America Now found that in 2007, WellPoint Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis-based Anthem, controlled 60 percent of the state’s health insurance market. Together with M*Plan, the state’s second largest insurer, they controlled 75 percent of the market in 2007.[1] Since then, M*Plan has ceased operations of its commercial managed care division – perhaps because it could not profitably compete with the consolidated for profit Blues – leaving Hoosiers with even less choice in the insurance marketplace.
With little or no real competition, the cost of health insurance in Indiana has skyrocketed, increasing 83 percent from 2000 to 2007.[2] For family health coverage in Indiana , the average annual cost of premiums rose from $6,628 to $12,153.[3]
“Clearly there are no market forces at work here keeping prices down,” noted Allison Luthe, Community Organizer for Central Indiana Jobs with Justice. “No wonder almost three quarters of Americans have said they would like the choice of a public health insurance plan.”
“A thorough investigation and thoughtful analysis of this problem will both shed light on what is happening and strengthen the case for national health reform that ensures quality, affordable health care for all by offering Indianans the choice of a public health insurance plan and giving Indiana’s private insurers a healthy and much needed dose of competition.”
Indiana is not alone. In the past 13 years there have been more than 400 health insurance industry mergers and the number of insurers has fallen by 20 percent. Most markets are considered highly concentrated by antitrust experts.
Nationwide, between 2000-2007, premiums for health insurance policies increased by more than 87 percent. Tellingly, the profits of the 10 largest publicly traded insurers rose during that same period by 428 percent. The full report can be viewed online at www.centralindianajwj.org.
Central Indiana Jobs with Justice is an organization of labor, faith-based community and student organizations and individuals building a broad and long-term coalition to support worker rights and social justice. Central Indiana JwJ is the lead organization for the Health Care for American Now campaign in Indiana .
Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is made up of more than 725 organizations representing 30 million people dedicated to winning quality, affordable health care we all can count on. We are doctors, nurses, community organizations, small business owners, faith-based groups, people of color, seniors, children’s and women’s rights groups, and labor unions fighting to achieve a national solution to our health care crisis in 2009.
[1] American Medical Association, “Competition in health insurance: A comprehensive study of U.S. markets: 2007 update.” (most recent update)
[2] Families USA , “premiums versus Paychecks,” S