[quote]More than 100 private hospitals around the country are in areas with little rival healthcare provision, says the Competition Commission (CC). Many of these hospitals are owned by three major groups, the CC said. It said the buying power of health insurance firms did not offset the hospitals' strong position. About 80% of private patients fund their treatment through medical insurance, which is often paid for by their employers. Although prices charged by operators to insurers are set nationally, the commission said it believed that the lack of local choice pushed up premiums for all patients, because insurers had no option but to use the local hospital. "The lack of competition in the healthcare market at a local level means that most private patients are paying more than they should, either for private medical insurance or for self-funded treatment," said the commission's chairman, Roger Witcomb. "The lack of available and comparable information, often less than is available to NHS patients, also makes informed choices - which could help drive competition - for these patients difficult."[/quote] So those paying for Private healthcare are paying to much because of no competition? In think this makes a nice comparison for the American health system which has no shortage of competition. I can't imagine how much worse it is in the USA if a country with Universal Healthcare is complaining about it's private sector which uses NHS resources and vise-versa. This also brings up a question I never actually thought of, is the American insurance done per company or on a national/state level?