Kaiser Permanente has a 40 percent share of California's health insurance market for employers and individuals, according to a new report from Citigroup analyst Carl McDonald. California's market is important because it impacts the nationwide health insurance industry. "As California goes, so goes the results of the publicly traded plans, with the California the largest market at four of the six publicly traded plans," McDonald wrote in his report.
Of the $59 billion in premiums accrued in the state, Kaiser made $23.3 billion in premiums from 5.5 million commercial customers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Anthem Blue Cross followed Kaiser with a 23 percent commercial market share and $13.7 billion in premiums. Rounding out the top five market shares were Blue Shield of California at 14 percent, Health Net at almost 9 percent and UnitedHealth with a 5 percent share. Article