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February 22, 2010                                       Paul Kincaid, 202-225-4289

Cummings Votes To Strip Health Insurance Anti-Trust Exemption

Congressman supports treating health insurance organizations like most other American companies.

(Washington, DC) – Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (MD-07) today voted to pass H.R. 4626, the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act. Once signed by the President, the legislation will take away the anti-trust exemption for health insurance companies, requiring them to compete fairly and adhere to the same anti-trust laws as other companies. The bill passed the House by a tally of 406-19.

It will also give the American people more choice in their health care by requiring health insurance companies to compete fairly and adhere to the same anti-trust laws as other companies.

“Insurance companies have been able to avoid legal accountability for price fixing, dividing up territories among themselves, and sabotaging their competitors in the marketplace in order to gain a monopoly for decades,” said Cummings. “Marylanders have paid higher premiums, had a lower quality of coverage and have been limited in their insurance choices.

“In Maryland, two companies have 63 percent of the insurance business. 96 percent of all health insurance markets are, like ours, “highly concentrated”. Consumers have little or no choice between insurers and it is too easy for insurance companies to collude on prices and practices. Now, anti-trust enforcement will finally be possible, to protect Americans from collusion in the industry and to create more choices.”

Stripping the anti-trust exemption from insurance companies was also part of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives last year.