Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary leadership on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 372, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017, would partially repeal a longstanding antitrust exemption established by the McCarran-Ferguson Act with respect to the business of health and dental insurance. To qualify for this limited antitrust exemption, an insurer must be engaged in the business of insurance regulated by a State that is not designed to boycott, coerce, or intimidate. While these requirements somewhat constrain anticompetitive conduct, it is clear that they do not preclude the most egregious antitrust violations, such as price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation, by health insurance providers. {time} 1500 Health insurers should not be immune from antitrust scrutiny, particularly when they collude to increase prices, reduce availability, or otherwise engage in anticompetitive behavior. That is why House Democrats passed a measure that is substantively similar to H.R. 372, in 2010, by a vote of 406-19, and in 2009, as well. In 1988, 1992, and 1994, Judiciary Democrats likewise favorably reported legislation to completely repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act. While H.R. 372 is only a partial repeal of this exemption, I encourage my colleagues to support this measure.…”