Congress Gets Bill to Limit Anti-Trust Immunity in Insurance Industry

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives now have before them a bill introduced to curtail anti-competitive behavior within the insurance industry. If it passes and becomes law, the Insurance Industry Competition Act will give Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission the power to apply anti-trust laws to the insurance industry, effectively overturning the McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed in 1945.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.) and Senate Republican Whip Trent Lott, (R-Miss.) introduced the bill to the Senate, while Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), Bobby Jindal (R-La.), Charlie Melancon (D-La.), Rodney Alexander (R-La.), and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) introduced it to the House as well.

CLICK HERE to read the Senate's official press release about the bill, along with a transcript of the Senator Leahy's introduction of the bill to the Senate.

CLICK HERE for more additional media coverage of the bill as it relates to the insurance industry.