Bringing More Competition to Health Insurance

As partisan rancor about how to handle the high cost of health care, health insurance, and prescription drugs persists, maybe it is time to identify what everyone should be able to rally around: more competition. Hidden behind the complexities of the health care market is an unusual relationship among all Blue Cross/ Blue Shield health insurance plans that may be holding back a slew of competition that could save employers and consumers lots of money while promoting greater health care quality. It is time for the antitrust authorities and possibly for Congress to challenge the Blue Cross territorial and related association rules that prevent these insurance operations from maximizing health insurance competition across the United States.