Do we need a nonprofit health insurer to provide more competition for the for-profits? Here is what President Obama said:

An additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange.

Here is John Lott’s reply:

In 29 of the 43 states that data are available for in an American Medical Association report, the dominant company in the “full” insurance market is a non-profit company. In state after state, Blue Cross and Blue Shield hold the largest market share. On average, the largest non-profit holds over half of the “full” market share in those 29 states. Why add another non-profit operation to the mix?

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