Mary Gay Scanlon: “Healthy competition in health insurance markets is one of the most critical elements for ensuring that Americans have…”

“Healthy competition in health insurance markets is one of the most critical elements for ensuring that Americans have access to high- quality, affordable healthcare. When insurance companies are forced to compete, the American people win. Unfortunately, too many families are still paying higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs, in part, because of anticompetitive practices that health insurance giants are allowed to engage in under existing law. What is more, there is a statutory loophole for this conduct that allows insurers to engage in egregious actions like price-fixing, bid- rigging, and market allocation with total impunity so long as they are engaged in the business of insurance and it is regulated by a State. There should be no safe harbor whatsoever for this conduct which allows insurers to increase the cost of health insurance and impose additional burdens on families across our Nation when they are already struggling to make ends meet. Health insurance companies should be subject to antitrust liability to the extent that they collude or otherwise engage in anticompetitive behavior. H.R. 1418 would achieve this result. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman DeFazio for his leadership on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation that is long overdue. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”