Paul Tonko: “It is so important for us to underscore the value of competition that drives the American economy. We've seen it in so…”

“It is so important for us to underscore the value of competition that drives the American economy. We've seen it in so many industries and where competition provides choice for consumers. I think it's very interesting to note that over the last decade, as average households have stayed flatlined and as insurance premium costs have more than doubled, the consumers have had no choice in some situations. They have had to tolerate price fixing or insurance groups dividing up territories amongst themselves or certainly just subterfuging any of their competition out there. I think that it's time for us to make certain that there is the competition. Certainly by moving with this reform to McCarran-Ferguson, we now can hope for a better day for America's insured. It is so important for us to make certain that this 65-year-old prohibition is undone. And as Representative Perriello said, this costs government nothing. It is the sort of reform that I believe can drive wonderful benefits for the people of this country as they have looked at these exorbitant prices where we've seen huge increases, where there's a need for a stronger bed of oversight, of regulation, making certain that the double-digit percentage increases are not tolerated, are not just rubber-stamped in a way that really engages the price fixing, that engages the efforts out there of greed that with that monopoly power have enabled them to really sock it to our health care consumers.”