Date: 2010-02-24
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

I thank the distinguished chairman. Madam Speaker. I rise to announce to the American public and to this body that. as we stand here today. over a years time. 45.000 Americans die because they dont have health insurance. They dont have health insurance because the premiums have literally spiraled beyond any imagination. So. today. we are rising to create an opportunity for Americans to live and for lives to be saved because competition is the engine. not only of the economy. but it is the engine of better health care for all Americans. Here is an example that shows how increased premiums are the complete opposite of commitment and service to our constituency: When the State of California passed a law in 1988 that eliminated the State antitrust exemption for the auto insurance industry. auto premiums for consumers in California rose 9.8 percent when the rest of the premiums in the Nation were going down. The Consumer Federation of America said that consumers would save over $50 billion in insurance premiums by repealing the 1945 McCarranFerguson Act. I thank the distinguished colleague from our Judiciary Committee. Mr. PERRIELLO. for his leadership. along with many others. Removing the antitrust exemption will not only enable appropriate enforcement against these unjust practices when they are uncovered. but it will also give all health insurance companies healthy competitive incentives so you as a family of four. as a grandmother. as a single parent can get the insurance possible as we move forward in health insurance. The attorney general of New York. in his investigation. found that insurance companies engage in collusion. Thats why we need this. We want to break the rules so we can help doctors with lower premiums and medical malpractice and with shielding our constituency from these Godforsaken prices. Let me tell you that we have seen this in action in the Ocean State Physicians Health Plan v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Citing this act. this antitrust prevention act. the First Circuit overturned a jury verdict against the dominant health insurer for using its monopoly power to put financial pressure on area employers to refuse to do business with a competing HMO. The First Circuit. because of the exemption. blocked any opportunity for competition. We need to change this. and we have found that this collusion is hurting us. So. Madam Speaker. I would say to you that. in order to save lives. like the lives in my 18th Congressional District. where Texas is the poster child for the most uninsured. 1.1 millionit has the dubious honor of being the largest uninsured State in the Nation. My county. Harris County. as we fight over and over for health insurance. does not have people who are insured. So this will help bring. along with the health reform that we will pass in the next couple of weeks. the idea of saving lives and of providing for our children and our families. Chairman CONYERS had the singlepayer bill. That was the initiative that should have gone forward. but now we have a way of saving lives. This is fiscally secure. and it provides security to those who are in need. I ask that you support this legislation to. again. save lives. Madam Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 4626. Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act. a bill designed to restore competition and transparency to the health insurance marketby repealing the blanket antitrust exemption afforded to health insurance companies by the McCarranFerguson Act of 1945. Today 45.000 people a year die without health insurance and they die because they do not have health insurance! This is a matter of life and death. Madam Speaker. competition is the engine that drives our economy. spurs innovation. and ensures that the American consumer receives a fair deal on goods and services. There is significant evidence that removing the antitrust exemption will increase competition in the insurance industry and will result in lower prices and other benefits for consumers. In fact. experience has shown time and time again the benefits of increased competition in the form of lower prices. increased choice. and greater innovation. A healthy and competitive health insurance market will drive prices down in the health insurance industry. just as we have seen it do in so many other industries where competition is allowed to take hold. For example. since the state of California passed a law in 1988 that eliminated the state antitrust exemption for the auto insurance industry. auto premiums for consumers in California have risen by only 9.8% while the rest of the country has seen auto premiums rise by over 48 percent. The Consumer Federation of America has said that consumers would save over $50 billion in insurance premiums by repealing the 1945 McCarranFerguson Act for all lines of insurance. Further. it is estimated that subjecting health insurance companies to federal antitrust laws would lower premiums by 10% or more. Removing this antitrust exemption will not only enable appropriate enforcement against these unjust practices when they are uncovered. it will also give all health insurance companies healthy competitive incentives that will promote better affordability. improved quality. increased innovation. and greater consumer choice. as the antitrust laws have done throughout the rest of the economy for over a century. The antitrust exemption was enacted in 1945. as part of legislation whose main purpose was simply to reaffirm the authority of States to regulate insurance for the protection of their citizens. The antitrust exemption was quietly inserted at the end of the legislative process. in conference committee. As a result. insurance companies have been shielded from legal accountability for price fixing. dividing up territories among themselves. sabotaging their competitors in the marketplace in order to gain monopoly power. and other practices that unjustly harm consumers. Moreover. antitrust court actions alleging each of these practices. and more. have been blocked by invoking the McCarranFerguson antitrust exemption. For far too long. the health insurance industry has played by a different set of rules. Shielding health and medical malpractice insurance companies from federal antitrust laws is a practice that must end. Madam Speaker. the American public agrees that the special treatment the antitrust exemption affords insurance companies must come to an end. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 65% of Americans favored removing the antitrust exemption for health insurance companies. Of those polled. Democrats supported subjecting insurance companies to antitrust laws by a seventoone margin. Sixtyfour percent (64%) of independent voters and 58% of Republicans also believe insurers should abide by antitrust laws. This data demonstrates that there is bipartisan public support for demanding that health insurance companies play by the same rules as other companies in America. Madam Speaker. I agree with the majority of the American public that shielding health and medical malpractice insurance companies from federal antitrust laws is a practice that must end. Eliminating the antitrust exemption for the health care industry is a vital step toward reforming health care. lowering prices for consumers and doctors. and leveling the playing field for American businesses. The Consumer Federation of America has said that consumers would save over $50 billion in insurance premiums by repealing the 1945 McCarranFerguson Act for all lines of insurance. Further. it is estimated that subjecting health insurance companies to federal antitrust laws would lower premiums by 10% or more. Moreover. in addition to bipartisan support amongst the American public. repealing antitrust exemptions for all health insurance is supported by conservative political leaders as well such as Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Senator JOSEPH LIEBERMAN. and former Majority Leader Trent Lott. This bill is also necessary because. over the years. health insurers have been able to use this antitrust exemption to block court actions regarding anticompetitive behavior. For example. in Ocean State Physicians Health Plan. Inc. v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. the First Circuit Courtciting the McCarranFerguson antitrust exemptionoverturned a jury verdict against the dominant health insurer for using its monopoly power to put financial pressure on area employers to refuse to do business with a competing HMO. Removing this antitrust exemption is supported by key law enforcement groups. including the National Association of Attorneys General. In 2007. the National Association of Attorneys Generalrepresenting both Democratic and Republican State Attorneys Generaloverwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for repealing this exemption. As the resolution pointed out. "the National Association of Attorneys General consistently has opposed legislation that weakens antitrust standards for specific industries because there is no evidence that such exemptions promote competition or serve the public interest." In addition. in a recent letter to Congress. nine State Attorneys General pointed out. "Since 1977. and most recently in 2007. antitrust experts and enforcers have concluded that repealing the McCarranFerguson exemption would result in enhancing competition while allowing standard industry practices necessary for the proper functioning of these markets. such as sharing loss and other insured risk information." Removing this antitrust exemption is also supported by leading consumer groups. Numerous consumer groupsincluding the Consumers Union. Consumer Federation of America. U.S. PIRG. Center for Justice and Democracy. and Public Citizenstrongly support removing this antitrust exemption. In a joint letter to Congress. consumer groups pointed out that. under this legislation. health insurance companies "would be required to play by the same rules of competition as virtually all other commercial enterprises operating in Americas economy." In closing. I want to also take this time to reiterate my support for a public health care plan that covers every one of the 47 million people who live in our great nation without health insurance. Madam Speaker. my state of Texas has the dubious honor of being the uninsured capital of the nation. Further. with more than 1.1 million of the nations uninsured living in my own county. Harris County. I represent what some have labeled as ground zero of the health care debate. Thus. the issue of universal health care coveragesomething that would have been achieved by Chairman CONYERS Single Payer bill. which I supported. is more than an empty slogan. its a matter of fiscal and physical life and death to the people of the 18th Congressional District. Therefore. no matter how the pending debate over the details of the health reform bill winds up. my constituents can count on me to continue fighting and continue working together with my colleagues of both parties. to ensure that everyone in my district. in Houston. in Texas. and in America has access to affordable and quality health care.