It seems that every since the AHIP (American Health Insurance Providers) went rogue with their “report” on the costs of healthcare reform and their push to get GOP lawmakers to oppose any form of health insurance, the notion of revoking their anti-trust exemption (passed in the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945) has been gaining steam. H.R. 3596, the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009 has passed the Judiciary Committee of the House, acting narrowly to remove anti-trust exemptions.
Yesterday, Mississippi Gulf Coast Democrat Rep. Gene Taylor posted a letter (PDF) on his website, co-signed by 14 other House members (including Dennis Kucinich and Peter Welch), calling on Nancy Pelosi to ensure that all anti-trust exemptions are lifted for insurance companies.
Calling the original exemption “temporary,” the letter claims that consumers could save $40 billion dollars if the anti-trust exemptions are lifted.
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More on the McCarran-Ferguson Act here.
#152849 | Author: Todd Stauffer | Date: Oct 23 2009
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.
