House Judiciary Committee Votes to Strip Insurance of Anti-Trust Exemption

Today the House Judiciary Committee voted 20 to 9 to repeal the insurance industry's exemption to antitrust laws that it has enjoyed since the 1940's, an exemption that has allowed companies to collude on price-fixing. At the same time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that a repeal of the exemption will be part of the Senate's reform bill. Supporters view the repeal as a means to promote competition among insurers. "We can open up our health insurance markets to real competition and make an important contribution to the health reform efforts underway in both houses of Congress,'" said Rep. John Conyers, the chairman of the committee. You can read more here.