Regulators Investigate Blue Cross' Grip on Insurance Market

State regulators say, Pennsylvania is among the least competitive health insurance markets in the nation, and they want to find out why. The state Insurance Department has a formal examination of the four non-profit Blue Cross insurers in Pennsylvania – Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Capital BlueCross, Highmark Inc. and Independence Blue Cross to determine – to see if they start on anti-competitive or unfair trade practices that State notices. The test of whether consumers Pennsylvania, said concentrating the benefits of lower costs and greater choice of taking a market that will benefit more competition, department officials. Pennsylvania market is less competitive than in nine other states because of the populous is an important indicator, the National Insurance Commissioner Joel Ario said in an interview on Monday. The indicator is the market share of the blues compared to large national commercial carriers. The combined market share of nearly 60 percent of Blue in Pennsylvania, as compared to Blue shares of 18 percent to 48 percent in other states. Texas has a blue market share of 18 percent, 33 percent in New York and California 24 percent, according to a department document. That is, national commercial carriers such as Aetna, UnitedHealth and Health America has a smaller market to gain a foothold in Pennsylvania than in the other nine states Ario said. The investigation will examine whether the territorial the Blues’ arrangements in Pennsylvania, under which each Blue doing business is only in its own region, have anti-competitive nature. If the Blues are in competition rather than classification of the area, then the national bureaux and the state are based Geisinger Health Plan insurance as more of a chance to have to compete for customers, also has Ario. Other questions are whether the Blues to use their market power to force unfair advantage, the prices on providers and whether they themselves agreements that impede competition. Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh-based Highmark Inc. a business from April 2005, when Highmark invested 34 million U.S. dollars to 40 percent of the shares and buy some seats on the board of two subsidiaries of the local Blue Cross “. Highmark directors were appointed in control of all important changes in the company. They strengthened their relationship in 2007, when the Wilkes-Barre-based Blue Cross moved several popular insurance plans in the individual Group companies jointly owned by Highmark. The change meant more than half of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 585,000 customers were fundamentally influenced at this time for health plans, drawn partly owned by Highmark. “We welcome the regular reviews of market conditions, government regulatory agencies,” said Anthony Matrisciano, spokesman for Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, in a statement. He said Blue Cross of NEPA special obligations that affect their market share. “The Blue Plan, we have a unique position in the market, we are committed to only one insurer, they added as uninsurable or high risk are used by other makers,” Matrisciano. “We are also the only institution in the state law as” insurer of last resort “serve.” The test will begin months after the collapse of a merger between Highmark and Independence Blue Cross in January. The two companies withdrew their application several days before Ario had planned to deny the merger. The Commissioner said that the merger did not meet the competition test and a consolidated company would be about a 51 percent market share – an unprecedented level in a single state. A test is similar to a fact-finding process in which the results will be made public. The department may note agreements with the Blues as a result or offer suggestions for the legislators. The department asked the law firm of Hangley Aronchick Segal & serve as an examiner. The four Blues pay the costs of their own tests, “said Ario. Therefore, he does not think the company will continue to have a major impact on the budget of the department.

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