GAO finds individual insurance markets concentrated in most states in 2014

Recent news about insurers leaving health insurance exchanges have raised concerns about lowering competition and rising prices for health insurance. Prior to 2014 health insurance markets in most states were highly concentrated, according to the US General Accounting Office. It was hoped that the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges would reverse that trend expand options for consumers through expanding competition. A new GAO report finds small decreases in competition in 2014 with ACA implementation for small or large group market competition, but individual coverage markets in most states continued the trend toward less competition. Only four states, including New York, saw an increase in the number of companies offering individual policies. The authors note that many exchanges were new in 2014; subsequent years experience will be important to assess the impact of the ACA.