“A lack of competition in health insurer markets is not in the best interest of patients or physicians.”
ropolitan areas within all 14 states that Anthem currently operates: Califor- nia, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. AMA bases these findings on an in-
depth analysis of data used to create the 2015 edition of AMA’s Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets, which offers the largest and most complete picture of competition in health insurance markets for 388 metropolitan areas, as well as all 50 states and the Dis- trict of Columbia. The study includes 2013 data captured from commercial enrollment in fully and self-insured plans and includes participation in consumer-driven health plans. The prospect of reducing five na-
tional health insurance carriers to just three should be viewed in the context of the unprecedented lack of com- petition that already exists in most health insurance markets. According to AMA’s latest study:
• Seven out of 10 metropolitan areas studied had a significant absence of health insurer competition. These markets are rated “highly concen- trated” based on federal guidelines used to assess the degree of compe- tition in a given market.
• In nearly two out of five metropoli- tan areas studied, a single health insurer had at least a 50-percent share of the commercial health in- surance market.
• Fourteen states had a single health insurer with at least a 50-percent share of the commercial health in- surance market.
• Forty-six states had two health in- surers with at least a 50-percent share of the commercial health in- surance market.
• The 10 states with the least com- petitive commercial health insur-
+ 18 TEXAS MEDICINE November 2015
ance markets were (listed in or- der): Alabama, Hawaii, Delaware, Michigan, Alaska, South Carolina, Louisiana, Nebraska, Illinois, and North Dakota.
The AMA study will help lawmak-
ers, policymakers, regulators, and researchers identify markets where mergers and acquisitions among health insurers may harm patients, physicians, and employers. Competition in Health Insurance: A
Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets is free to AMA members. The study is also available to nonmembers. To or- der a copy, visit the online AMA Store, tma.tips/AMAStore, or call (800) 621-8335 and mention item number OP427113. Learn about the potential impact
of the mergers on Texas’ health insur- ance market in the December issue of Texas Medicine.
DPS automatically renewed current, active CSR permits
SENATE BILL 195 by Sen. Charles Schwertner, MD (R-Georgetown), and Rep. Myra Crownover (R-Denton) eliminates the controlled substances registration (CSR) permit program, ef- fective Sept. 1, 2016. To implement the change, the Texas Department of Pub- lic Safety (DPS) says it automatically renewed all active or current CSRs on Aug. 20, 2015. They will expire on Aug. 31, 2016. DPS adds that it will not mail new certificates with automatic re- newals. To verify your CSR, visit www
.dps.texas.gov/csr/index.aspx. DPS notes the change does not ap-
ply to registrations that expired on or before July 31, 2015. To renew an ex- pired CSR, you must submit a renewal application and pay the $25 renewal fee and $50 late fee. DPS has instruc-
Verify your CSR permit at
www.dps.texas.gov/csr/index.aspx.
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