Patrick Leahy

I would hope that those who, like myself, are in favor of the public option or those who feel that they should oppose the President on health care, whatever thing, I would hope both sides would agree on one issue: that health care fraud is…

Thank you very much, and I apologize. I went over my time. I was not paying attention.

Senator Grassley's work in this, and he and I and Senator Kaufman and others worked over many years to strengthen this anti-fraud tool, and we passed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.

We have to work together to ensure that we have tough and effective measures in place to prevent health care fraud and provide accountability.

Excuse me, Mr. Powell. You understand this bill would do nothing to stop removing the McCarran-Ferguson exemption in this context.

I certainly have not heard it.

Last month, I introduced the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009, and that would repeal the antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance providers.

The insurance industry's exemption from the Federal antitrust laws... has served the financial interests of the insurance industry, but I do not see where it has helped the consumers at all.

I thank you both, and we are not beating a hasty departure based on your testimony, but based on the fact we have run out of time on the vote on the floor.

I am glad to see the administration taking antitrust enforcement so seriously.

Health insurance monopolies should not be making health care decisions for patients--and for doctors.

I will also ask consent to put in the record a resolution from the National Association of Attorneys General...

Addressing this problem is crucial to health care reform and does require legislative action

I will submit my questions for the record, and we will keep the record open for others.

But as Assistant Attorney General Varney testified, this kind of sharing, blind sharing, would be allowed.

Without a repeal of the antitrust exemption, insurance companies will continue to have the power to gouge patients and doctors.

The legislation I introduced, the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act, only repeals the McCarran-Ferguson exemption for what I think we would all agree are egregious violations of the antitrust laws--price fixing and bid…

So I urge all of my colleagues on this Committee and in the Senate to get this out of Committee as quickly as possible and let us pass it.

I do not see how somebody can say with a straight face that they should not be subject to the same antitrust laws as everyone else.

Antitrust oversight in these industries would provide consumers with confidence that insurance companies are not colluding to raise prices artificially.

I want to commend him for holding this hearing.

The insurance companies apparently do, according to what Senator Reid and others have said.

Basically what we are saying is everybody should be subjected to the laws.

There is no reason why the insurance companies should have exemption from antitrust laws, this blanket exemption.

I will ask consent to put in the record a letter from the American Hospital Association...