2-25-10 House passes bill that would end health insurance antitrust exemption
Yesterday, the House passed a bill that would end the antitrust exemption for health insurance companies. The “Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act” (HR 4246) would repeal the exemption to antitrust laws that health insurance companies have had since 1945, making it possible for the government to pursue legal action against these companies for price fixing.
However, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) completed a cost estimate of a previous version of this legislation ( http://2.gp/jtf ). CBO stated that the actual effect on premiums would likely be small, as many of the activities that would be banned under federal law are already banned under various state laws. The biggest effect would likely be the government getting additional revenue from fining insurance companies that violated the new law.
Also, if the legislation becomes law, it may prevent insurers from sharing the data they use to set rates. As smaller insurance companies have fewer resources to get data on their own, they would be hurt the most.
Read the full text of HR 2426 here (http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h4626/text ).
Sources and more information:
Congressional Budget Office – Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10673/hr3596.pdf
OpenCongress – House Votes to End Antitrust Protections for Health Insurers
