HR 1418, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act, if enacted, will amend a section of the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, which exempted the insurance industry from provision of the Sherman Act and Clayton Act. The only other industry exempt from antitrust laws is Major League Baseball.
It is preposterous that this anti-free-market exemption is still on the books, and the insurance industry abuses it to the detriment of you, the patient. This exemption gives insurance companies the power to collude to drive up prices, limit competition, conspire to underpay doctors and hospitals, and price gouge consumers.
Not only will HR 1418 protect you, it will ensure the health insurance industry is subject to the same rules as virtually every other industry. Patients, doctors, and hospitals all benefit when health insurers compete to provide a variety of quality coverage options. The healthcare market should be patient-centric and should provide a variety of affordable and quality options, all fostered by competition.
There is no reason in law, policy, or logic for the insurance industry to have special exemptions that are different from all other businesses in the US that has allowed the insurance industry to have ruined your healthcare for decades. The government should not be picking winners or losers, and the insurance industry should also have to comply with federal anti-trust laws. It is unthinkable that the health insurance industry has been permitted to avoid accountability for so long under the laws and standards that govern other aspects of American business.
Without repeal, dentists, patients, and the public won’t know the extent to which they have been affected by the McCarran-Ferguson Act’s negative impact on competition within the health insurance industry. Under the bill, consumers may finally receive the relief they need from being under the thumbs of the insurance industry. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS AND DEMAND THEIR SUPPORT OF THIS IMPORTANT LEGISLATION.
Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC
ZoAnna Scheinfeld, MS, DMD
Hanna Orland, DMD
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
404-256-3620
and
3781 Chamblee Dunwoody Road
Chamblee, GA 30341
770-455-6076
the right smile 