Carney Votes To End Health Insurance Industry's Anti-Trust Exemption

Press Release

Carney Votes To End Health Insurance Industry's Anti-trust Exemption

Congressman Chris Carney today voted to give families more choices over their health insurance by supporting the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, H.R. 4626. The measure, which passed the House, ends the health insurance industry's exemption from federal anti-trust laws.

"I hear every day from families who want more choices when it comes to health insurance," said Congressman Carney. "This measure is critically important because it would deny health insurers the ability to monopolize the market. We must create much-needed competition and give families more options over their health insurance. There are few industries in America with as much power over their customers as the health insurance sector and it is time we put more control into the hands of our families."

The health insurance industry has been exempt from anti-trust laws for 65 years, giving insurers enormous power to act as virtual monopolies in individual markets. The federal government was banned from investigating evidence of possible collusion. In the past 14 years, there have been 400 mergers among health insurers. Now 94 percent of all insurance markets are "highly concentrated" -- meaning consumers have little or no choice between insurance providers.

Meanwhile, families' health insurance premiums are rising at rates that are vastly outpacing inflating. In one state alone, California, families recently learned that insurance rates would rise in some instances by 39 percent.

Health insurers that were previously exempt from anti-trust laws will now bear legal responsibility for price fixing, dividing up territories among themselves and sabotaging their competitors in order to gain a monopoly in the marketplace. Such practices have been outlawed in other industries for decades.

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