Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act

Floor Speech

Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I thank the chairman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, last week I was shocked to learn that in the middle of the great recession, which was caused by the deregulation, hands-off policies of the prior administration, and during this time when families across my district and across the Nation are struggling with rising unemployment and while health insurance companies have recently announced that last year was their best year on record as far as profits are concerned, $12 billion last year in profits for the insurance industry, and while that's the case, they are announcing plans to raise insurance premiums by 40 percent in some markets. During this time of hurt and pain and also making money by the insurance industry off these people who are hurting and in pain, we are considering today removing the antitrust exemption that insurance companies have enjoyed for over 60 years. And it's time for this protection and immunity from antitrust law and this anticompetitive behavior, it's time for it to come to an end.

This insurance industry which delivers health care to the people has been broken for a long time. We all know it, and it's time to change it. And this is a good place to change it. It will help with competition if we pass this law today. That will happen only if we start applying anticompetitive, antitrust legislation to the insurance industry. There's simply no reason why they should continue to benefit from it.

Don't listen as the health insurance industry tries to tell you that they can't live under the antitrust laws. Every other industry does. It's high time that they do too. Consumers will benefit, the economy will benefit, and health insurance insurers who want to compete honestly will too.

Let's give struggling American families an honest health insurance market by enacting this important bill.

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