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That company and four other big players overcame all of the negativity to generate about $180 billion in total revenue.

"If North Carolina is any guide, such regulation can be effective at leveling the playing field between the fully insured and self-funded markets," an analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Health Insurance Reforms said.

Earlier this month, following unfavorable court rulings, the agency halted a pilot program that would have changed the way in which rebates are applied.

Not all hospitals have fallen in line with the price transparency rules, and many were slow to do so.

According to AHA officials, "key aspects of [Kernodle's] decision, including the court's rejection of the FTC's reliance on a study regarding hospital mergers, were based on arguments made in the AHA's amicus brief."

Jeff Smedsrud that the draft Affordable Care Act individual health insurance market rules will make individual major medical insurance more attractive and more affordable in many markets.