A hearing on Blues merger gets arcane

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, July, 2008 | by Jane M. Von Bergen Inquirer Staff Writer

It was almost as if economists had donned armor, grabbed lances, and charged into battle over the proposed merger of Independence Blue Cross and Highmark Inc. The economists were jousting during recent statewide hearings over the issue of competition, with each side sending its best hired brains into the fray.

Arcane, perhaps, but the precise definition of  competition  - a concept that seems simple but apparently requires a Ph.D. to understand - will be key to approval or rejection of the plan to create the biggest health insurer the state has ever known. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department, according to state law, must approve the merger of the "Blues" unless the transaction would "substantially lessen competition," among other standards. In their battle, instead of...