Lynn C. Woolsey: “H.R. 4626 will lift the antitrust exemptions that health insurance companies have enjoyed for far too long. It will…”

“H.R. 4626 will lift the antitrust exemptions that health insurance companies have enjoyed for far too long. It will protect us from the Anthems of the world. These exemptions have given the companies a near monopoly control of health insurance markets--preventing meaningful competition, competition that would bring down the cost of premiums and competition that would make health care affordable for all Americans, which we know is not right now. Through the lifting of the insurance companies' antitrust exemptions and through the creation of an exchange, we will increase competition. The insurance industry will then have to control their costs, control their premiums and control their copays because they will have competition. Another important way to increase competition is to give the American people a choice, a choice of a public health insurance option--an option that will compete with private health insurance companies and will bring down the costs of premiums and the costs of coverage.”