An American Medical Association study released Monday is expected to raise concerns that health insurer consolidation is creating near-monopolies in virtually all reaches of the U.S. — with the most dominant firms grabbing more market share by several percentage points a year.
Critics say that carriers are not only creating monopolies and oligopolies in many regions, they also control the other side of the equation in what is known as monopsony power. That means in addition to having the most enrollees, they’re also the biggest purchasers of health care and can dictate prices and coverage terms.
