[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 1 (Thursday, January 3, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E9]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF THE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT ACT 
                                OF 2013

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 3, 2013

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce the Health 
Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2013.
  This bill would level the playing field between health care 
professionals and insurance companies in the health care industry and 
improve the quality of patient care. The Health Insurance Industry 
Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2013 would eliminate the antitrust 
immunity provided under the McCarran-Ferguson Act for price fixing, bid 
rigging, and market allocation by health insurance issuers or medical 
malpractice insurers. The bill would also repeal the McCarran-Ferguson 
exemption for the business of health insurance and enable enforcement 
by the Federal Trade Commission.
  The purpose of this bill is to extend antitrust enforcement over 
health insurers and medical malpractice insurance issuers, which 
currently enjoy broad antitrust immunity under the McCarran-Ferguson 
Act. This immunity can serve as a shield for activities that might 
otherwise violate federal law.
  This bill will end the mistake Congress made in 1945 when it added an 
antitrust exemption for insurance companies into the McCarran-Ferguson 
Act. The blanket antitrust exemption created by the 1945 bill has 
shielded health insurance companies from legal accountability for 
decades. Our nation's antitrust laws exist to protect free-market 
competition and this bill will restore competition to the health 
insurance marketplace.
  The House Judiciary Committee held extensive hearings on the effects 
of the insurance industry's antitrust exemption throughout the 1980s 
and early 1990s. It became clear that the exemption was not needed to 
enable the insurance industry to provide any service to their 
policyholders, and that policyholders and the economy in general would 
benefit from increased competition among insurance providers.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill because it would prohibit 
price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation, pernicious practices 
that are detrimental to competition and result in fewer options and 
higher prices for consumers.
  The bill I introduce today is intended to root out unlawful activity 
in an industry that has grown complacent by decades of protection from 
antitrust oversight. In doing so, we aim to make health insurance more 
affordable to more Americans.

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