[skeptic2]

Let the Repubs filibuster this one:

Leahy Introduces Bill To Repeal Antitrust Exemption For Health, Medical Malpractice Insurance Companies  

WASHINGTON (Thursday, September 17, 2009) – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday introduced legislation to eliminate a federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies.   As the Senate prepares to consider comprehensive health care reform legislation, Leahy introduced the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act to repeal the antitrust exemption that was established in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act.    “A few industries have used their influence to obtain a special, statutory exemption from the antitrust laws, and the insurance industry is one of them,” said Leahy.  “In the markets for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance, patients and doctors are paying the price, as costs continue to increase at an alarming rate.  Insurers should not object to being subject to the same antitrust laws as everyone else.” The two key provisions of the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act will repeal the federal antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies for flagrant antitrust violations, including price-fixing, bid rigging, and market allocations, and subject health insurers and medical malpractice insurers to the same good-competition laws that apply to virtually every other company doing business in the United States. Leahy continued, “The healthcare industry is the subject of a great deal of debate.  There are many proposals to bring competition to health insurance providers.  While we are debating these solutions, we should not lose sight of the fact that the health insurance industry currently does not have to play by the same, good-competition rules as other industries.  That is wrong, and the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act corrects it.” Leahy has introduced legislation to repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act in previous Congresses, including the 2007 bipartisan Insurance Industry Competition Act, which provided for a broader repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act.