Pushback at Insurance Companies: Amendment to End Anti-Trust Exemption

Sen. Charles Schumer introduced an amendment to the health care bill that would end the exemption to anti-trust law that insurers have enjoyed and profited from. Yesterday Majority leader Harry Reid testified in favor of it:

“It’s something that should have been done a long time ago. . . . There isn’t anything we could do to satisfy [the insurance companies] in this health care bill. Nothing. They are so anti-competitive. Why? Because they make more money than any other business in America today. . . .What a sweet deal they have.”

Health Care for America finds that "94% of insurance markets in this country are 'highly concentrated,' a Department of Justice term that means these markets are at risk for monopoly. For example, in Arkansas, Blue Cross Blue Shield controls 75% of the market, a level of concentration that would raise anti-trust lawsuits in any other industry."

You can read more about the potential impact of ending insurance anti-trust exemptions at Health Care for America here.