On October 21, the House Judiciary Committee voted to repeal health and medical malpractice insurers’ long-standing federal antitrust exemption.  By a vote of 20-9 in which three Republicans crossed party lines to vote yes, the committee approved H.R. 3596, the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009.

According to the legislative language, H.R. 3596 is intended to “ensure that health insurance issuers and medical malpractice insurance issuers cannot engage in price fixing, bid rigging, or market allocations to the detriment of competition and consumers.”  The legislation is identical to S. 1681, the antitrust bill introduced in the Senate in September and previously discussed here.

For months, supporters of the antitrust exemption repeal efforts in both the House and Senate have expressed an interest in offering their language as an amendment when broader healthcare reform bills reach the House and Senate floors for consideration.  This interest has since intensified in the recent wake of the health insurance industry’s vocal opposition to Democrats’ healthcare overhaul efforts.

We will continue to monitor this legislative situation, particularly as it relates to the larger issue of healthcare reform, and will provide updates on InsureReinsure.com.