Blue Cross and Blue Shield sued in federal court for conspiring to limit competition

[Redfairen]

A federal lawsuit winding its way through federal court in Birmingham accuses Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and about three dozen other Blue Cross plans of conspiring with each other, agreeing not to compete and dividing territory to limit competition.

The class action lawsuit, which alleges violation of federal antitrust laws through a "complete lack of meaningful competition," helps explain the relationship between BCBS of Alabama and the broader Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Local businesses such as BCBS of Alabama, although independently run, are linked by the Chicago-based, nationally run BCBSA with a board of directors.

The lawsuit alleges that the national association's board sets up anticompetitive agreements among participating companies.

Market dominance is the result of a "systematic and longstanding agreement between and among the BCBS defendants and the remaining companies that license the Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield brands to unlawfully divide and allocate the geographic markets for health insurance coverage in the United States," the lawsuit states.

http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/12/blue_cross_and_blue_shield_of.html#incart_big-photo

[cantbeserious]

1. But, But - We Live In A Free Market Economy - This Can't Happen - The Right Wing Tells Me So

eom

[TheKentuckian]

2. Times like this make an antitrust exemption handy, maybe it will be stripped judicially

after utter failure by the legislature in what is touted as a market based reform but I don't think it is likely.

It might be "unAmerican", anti - competitive, and seeming at odds with the popular narrative of our markets and economic system but unconstitutional seems far from certain after about a hundred years.

[RC]

3. Single Payer, Universal Health Care will go a long way towards fixing this problem.

Eliminate the greed by putting them out of business.

[Walk away]

4. ^^^^^^yes^^^^^^^