I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1150 
To restore the application of the Federal antitrust laws to the business 
of health insurance to protect competition and consumers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2011 
Mr. GOSAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To restore the application of the Federal antitrust laws to 
the business of health insurance to protect competition 
and consumers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Competitive Health 
Insurance Reform Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) Open, free, and fair competition has made 
the United States the strongest economy in the 
world. 
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(2) As a general proposition, Government 
should ensure that no industry obtains an unfair 
competitive advantage and that the playing field is 
equal. The Congress should not play favorites with 
certain industries or special interest groups by ex-
empting one group from the general application of 
the law. 
(3) There is no factual basis supporting any 
further exemption of the insurance industry from 
Federal antitrust and unfair competition laws. 
(4) Enforcement of these laws is most appro-
priately done through the U.S. Department of Jus-
tice, and in the case of aggrieved individuals through 
private actions as set forth in the existing statutes, 
but that class actions suits based on antitrust theo-
ries can themselves pose a hindrance to competition 
among insurance companies, and to higher prices for 
consumers, because of the resources they can con-
sume. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
It is the purpose of this Act to ensure that health 
insurance issuers and medical malpractice insurance 
issuers are subject to the same antitrust and unfair trade 
practices laws that all businesses have had to comply with 
and that these issuers would be subject to Federal laws 
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against price fixing, bid rigging, or market allocations to 
the detriment of competition and consumers. This Act 
remedies a special exemption provided by Congress in 
1945 to respond to the United States Supreme Court deci-
sion entitled United States v. South-Eastern Underwriters 
Association, wherein the Court correctly held that the 
Federal Government could regulate insurance companies 
under the authority of the commerce clause in the Con-
stitution. This Act would also retain enforcement of these 
laws with State and Federal law enforcement agencies and 
allow private causes of action by aggrieved consumers 
harmed by unfair trade practices, but would prohibit class 
actions based on antitrust legal theories against insurance 
companies. 
SEC. 4. RESTORING THE APPLICATION OF ANTITRUST 
LAWS TO HEALTH SECTOR INSURERS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO MCCARRAN-FERGUSON ACT.— 
Section 3 of the Act of March 9, 1945 (15 U.S.C. 1013), 
commonly known as the McCarran-Ferguson Act, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) Nothing contained in this Act shall modify, im-
pair, or supersede the operation of any of the antitrust 
laws with respect to the business of health insurance. For 
purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘antitrust 
laws’ has the meaning given it in subsection (a) of the 
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first section of the Clayton Act, except that such term in-
cludes section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to 
the extent that such section 5 applies to unfair methods 
of competition.’’. 
(b) RELATED PROVISION.—For purposes of section 
5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) 
to the extent such section applies to unfair methods of 
competition, section 3(c) of the McCarran-Ferguson Act 
shall apply with respect to the business of health insurance 
without regard to whether such business is carried on for 
profit, notwithstanding the definition of ‘‘Corporation’’ 
contained in section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission 
Act. 
(c) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.— 
(1) LIMITATION.—No class action may be 
heard in a Federal or State court on a claim against 
an insurer for a violation of any of the antitrust 
laws (as defined in section 3(c) of the Act of March 
9, 1945 (15 U.S.C. 1013), commonly known as the 
McCarran-Ferguson Act). 
(2) EXEMPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply with respect to any action commenced— 
(A) by the United States or any State; or 
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(B) by named individual claimants for 
their particular injuries. 
Æ 
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