Health insurers play a unique role as both sellers of insurance and buyers of health care services. These companies use their power as buyers against the smaller medical providers while cooperating with larger providers to increase profits for With only a handful of large insurers, physician practices often have no choice but to accept the prices offered without bargaining effectively. Larger providers, such as academic medical centers, can use their size and stature to negotiate rates. However, as long as insurers can continue to pass costs on to consumers in the form of higher premiums and cost-sharing, insurers are not necessarily hurt by paying higher fees to select providers; insurers would only be affected.
