Protecting Access to Healthcare Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOSAR. Madam Chair, I rise to address the House today in support of my amendment to H.R. 5 to amend the McCarran-Ferguson Act. This act exempts the business of insurance from many Federal antitrust laws. In this modern day and age, it is hard to see why this exemption still persists.

One of the original reasons to carve this exemption for the industry, which dates all the way back to 1945, was that insurance companies needed to share actuarial information in order to balance risk when setting premiums. However, since 1945, our Federal law has evolved to include safe harbors to permit companies to share this data as needed. I believe that violations of antitrust law cannot always be dealt with on the State level anymore as cash-strapped States lack the resources to enforce the law against these large, multi-state insurance companies. Therefore, it is time for this exemption to be repealed so that we can empower health insurance companies to compete more aggressively for the consumer dollar, increase competition, increase insurance options, empower patients to a patient-centered system, and they decrease premiums. Therefore, we all win.

Lowering the cost of health insurance is a goal we should all share. That is why the House passed a very similar measure, H.R. 4626, with over 400 votes in 2010.

There is one key difference between H.R. 4626 and this amendment, a difference of which I am proud. My amendment includes a prohibition on class action lawsuits in Federal court against these health insurance companies.

The FTC should have the power to investigate bad actors in the health insurance industry, but it helps no one if these companies--or for that matter, any American businesses--get mired in lawsuits that will cost millions. Class action lawsuits often result in big bucks in attorney fees for greedy trial attorneys, while leaving only pennies in the hands of plaintiffs who are allegedly wronged in the first place.

For example, let's take the Cobell settlement. Fifteen years ago, a group of Native Americans sued the Federal Government and Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, for mismanagement of their funds and won a $3.4 billion settlement only to find out that their attorneys were petitioning the judge for over $200 million in fees. This is outrageous.

When the poorest of poor are wronged in this country and are awarded a settlement in court, they shouldn't have to split pennies amongst themselves as their lawyers walk away with a big fat check. That is the spirit behind the tort reform piece of my amendment. I am pleased to see this House ready to pass significant tort reform today and encourage all my colleagues to support my amendment as well as the underlying bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. GOSAR. We failed to realize that what we did here in repeal of McCarran-Ferguson is the FTC. It is the FTC. It is the FTC and the Department of Justice.

Right now, privately, yes, you're right. Without the repeal of McCarran-Ferguson, there is more coming from the private aspect, but that's because we have limited the Federal oversight in the FTC and the Department of Justice.

This compromise is weighted very carefully to make sure that we get back to a balance, both Federal and State, and does not oversee the states' rights as well.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. GOSAR. Once again, I want to make sure that everybody understands that you're giving Federal oversight of collusion and monopoly. In class action lawsuits, what you're doing is not giving it all away, but you're limiting the vast improprieties that occur right now with class action.

This is carefully manipulated so that we're moving the balance down the field and it balances it out with competition and having some oversight over our jurisdiction of judgements that are impugned with class action. Class action has gotten way out of line, and most American people do understand that classification.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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