Market Model Patterns of Change

Market Model Patterns of Change

Overview

Today, health insurance is very active in asserting itself, not just advertising on television, billboards on the roads, but also the number of insured clients, the number of which is increasing. Acting on the principle of "do not talk about himself, let the people say," health insurance to attract new customers who share information about the benefits of insurance with your friends, thus shape public opinion and to multiply the number of insured.

In 2000 Americans spent on health care $ 1 trillion, that is, More than 15% of gross domestic product. Americans spend more only for food and shelter.

In the U.S., health insurance is voluntary and is carried out almost entirely by employers. Health insurance - the most common type of insurance on the job, but employers are not obliged to provide it. Not all American employees get such insurance. Yet in most major health insurance companies is almost indispensable condition, and 1990. They covered about 75% of the U.S. population.

For this assignment I have taken the industry of health care to have a deep look inside this particular sector of U.S.

1. Describe the industry and explain the general pattern of change of the particular market model

Health insurance in the United States providers represent competitive market because they are numerous, variety of choices, and no single entity has much power over prices. The health insurance can be considered as rapid growth industry. Recently, this industry is transforming in a rapid way and evolving into an oligopoly. Insurance markets in many states are eventually controlled and dominated by a few large firms.

There are many types of health insurance. The most common is the so-called compensation insurance or insurance "fees." In this form of insurance the employer pays the insurance company a premium for each employee, to provide an appropriate policy. Then the insurance company pays the checks provided a hospital or other medical facility or physician. Thus paid services included in the insurance plan. Normally the insurance company covers 80% of medical expenses for the rest to pay the insured himself.

There is an alternative - the insurance of the so-called managed services. The number of Americans covered by this type of insurance is increasing rapidly (more than 31 million people. In 1991.). In this case, the insurance company contracts with physicians, other health professionals, as well as c institutions, including hospitals, to provide all the services provided by this type of insurance. Usually, hospitals receive a fixed amount that is paid in advance for each insured person.

There were more than five hundred health insurers involved mergers between 1998 and 2008 (Bakhtiari, 2010). Although there are hundreds of small insurance companies operating in the market, the industry Led by WellPoint, 12 health plans cover two-thirds of the enrollment in the U.S. commercial-insurance market (Bloomberg News, 2010). An analyst's report cited in the article predicts there will be 100 insurers with around 200,000 members could be forced out of ...