Repeal the Insurance Industry's Antitrust ExemptionRalph Stonebyline‚ Oct. 29‚ 2009President Barack Obama spoke at Texas A&M University on October 16. He said health insurance companies are trying to kill healthcare reform, no matter the cost to the country. Now is the time to repeal the repeal McCarran- Ferguson Act, the federal antitrust exemption currently enjoyed by the insurance industry. This would be a first step toward bringing more needed competition to the insurance industry, especially the health insurance industry, which in turn may bring down the cost of insurance. On October 16, President Obama attacked the insurance industry, accusing it of airing “deceptive and dishonest ads” to derail his healthcare legislation and threatened to strip the industry of its longstanding exemption from federal anti- trust laws. The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing on legislation to repeal the Act. And in September, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced legislation to repeal the exemption established in the McCarran- Ferguson Act. |