The rich insurers may not necessarily be getting richer, but the big ones doing business in certain states are definitely munching more market share. Even the efforts of the Obama administration to diversify those providing health insurance haven't served to slow down the growth of carriers that dominate state business.

Call it "the rule of three." Evidence of this phenomenon in state health insurance sales comes from a Government Accountability Office report that examined which companies are dominating sales in a state-by-state comparison. The researchers found that, in 37 states, three companies tend to dominate. And, in many of those states, a single company has the lion's share of individual, small and large group business.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.