Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act
The Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act (H.R. 4626), introduced by Representative Tom Perriello and Representative Betsy Markey, would hold the health insurance industry accountable under America’s fair competition laws by removing it from the McCarran-Ferguson Act’s special blanket antitrust exemption for the business of insurance.
The current exemption shields insurance companies from accountability under the basic federal antitrust laws that apply to virtually every other U.S. industry for price fixing, dividing up territories among themselves, sabotaging their competitors in the marketplace in order to gain monopoly power, and other practices that unjustly harm consumers. Antitrust court actions alleging these practices, and more, against the health insurance industry have been blocked by invoking the McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption. Removing this exemption will enable appropriate enforcement against these unjust practices when they are uncovered.
