The health care insurance industry has become concentrated in the past few decades. Some of this concentration may be attributable to the lenient enforcement of antitrust legislation in the insurance industry. A partial antitrust exemption and the state action doctrine account for a portion of this leniency. The concentration has given health care insurance companies disproportionate bargaining power, which has negative repercussions on patients and physicians. The playing field can be equalized by offering physicians a limited antitrust exemption. This would allow physicians to bargain collectively with insurance companies, instead of dealing with them individually. Once the bargaining position is equilibrated, physicians can influence contracts. With this influence, they can promote patient care, physician autonomy, and fair compensation rates. The alternative is to involve the government in regulating the entire health care system. Keeping in line with our free market principles, regulation must be of the sort that obviates rather than perpetuates the need for future regulation. A limited antitrust exemption for physicians will balance bargaining positions and allow the health care industry to be efficient, thus obviating the need for future regulations. Copyright © 2008 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
