Submitted by Anne Landman on
The House of Representatives today introduced legislation to repeal an exemption to federal anti-trust laws that the insurance industry, including health insurers, has enjoyed since 1945. The McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 gave states the authority to regulate the insurance business without interference from federal regulation, unless federal law expressly provides otherwise. Federal anti-trust laws protect consumers by preventing unfair business practices like price-fixing, bid-rigging, and allocation of markets, and are aimed at helping keep competition honest. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a press conference February 23 to announce the "Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act," and the Center for Media and Democracy's Senior Fellow on Health Care, Wendell Potter, was invited to speak at the event. Mr. Potter, who worked inside the insurance industry for 20 years, said the exemption for insurers has "contributed to a health care system that has become one of the most dysfunctional and one of the most expensive in the world. And it is time that the health insurance industry begins to abide by the same rules and regulations that every other industry in this country has to abide by." Democrats hope the bill will lower premiums by giving consumers more choices. The White House supports the legislation. The insurance industry's trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans, opposes the measure, saying that their industry is already highly regulated and that mergers and other business practices are already subject to federal anti-trust laws. They also say the law would create "legal uncertainty," which would be bad for the industry. Read Mr. Potter's entire statement in support of the bill here.
Printer-friendly version