| By Bret Thompson, ProgressOhio - Jun 30th, 2009 at 9:47 am EDT |
Talking Points Memo points out the hypocrisy of Senators like Richard Shelby, saying the public option would destroy competition. Shelby represents Alabama, where a single insurer controls 83% of the market. 
This stat comes from a study released by ProgressOhio partner Health Care for America Now. The report finds that the market for health care insurance in the country is profoundly uncompetitive.
94% of the country lives in what the Justice Department defines as a "highly concentrated" marketplace (two firms control over 80% of the market).
The result? In the past six years insurance premiums are up 87% on average, while corporate profits at the 10 largest insurance companies jumped 428% from 2000 to 2007. The CEOs at these companies earned an average of $11.9 million a year.
A request for an antitrust investigation has been placed with the Justice Department.
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