Market Structure of the Health Insurance Industry

Why do Americans have to pay far more for health care than do citizens of other countries who receive comparable or even superior service?  A new report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service does not answer that question, but it does provide some insight into the role of the health insurance industry in generating those growing costs.

"Health costs appear to have increased over time in large part because of complex interactions among health insurance, health care providers, employers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, tax policy, and the medical technology industry.  Reducing the growth trajectory of health care costs may require policies that affect these interactions," the CRS delicately said.  See "The Market Structure of the Health Insurance Industry," Congressional Research Service, November 17, 2009.