,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #iaa  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #bh1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,gosar introduced the following    
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to restore the application of the      
,federal antitrust laws to the business 
of health insurance to protect          
competition and consumers4  #a4 ,short  
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,competitive ,health ,insurance ,reform 
,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,findings ,the      
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,open1 free1 and fair competition has   
made the ,united ,states the strongest  
economy in the world4  7#b7 ,as a       
general proposition1 ,government should 
ensure that no industry obtains an      
unfair competitive advantage and that   
the playing field is equal4 ,the        
,congress should not play favorites with
 certain industries or special interest 
groups by exempting one group from the  
general application of the law4  7#c7   

,there is no factual basis supporting   
any further exemption of the health     
insurance industry from ,federal        
antitrust and unfair competition laws4  
7#d7 ,enforcement of these laws is most 
appropriately done through the ,u4,s4   
,department of ,justice1 and in the case
 of aggrieved individuals through       
private actions as set forth in the     
existing statutes4  #c4 ,purpose ,it is 
the purpose of this ,act to ensure that 
health insurance issuers are subject to 
the same antitrust and unfair trade     
practices laws that all businesses have 
had to comply with and to more          
effectively ensure that these issuers   
would be subject to ,federal laws       
against price fixing1 bid rigging1 or   
market allocations to the detriment of  
competition and consumers4 ,this ,act   
remedies a special exemption provided by
 ,congress in #aide to respond to the   
,united ,states ,supreme ,court decision
 entitled ,united ,states v4            
,south-,eastern ,underwriters           

,association1 wherein the ,court        
correctly held that the ,federal        
,government could regulate insurance    
companies under the authority of the    
commerce clause in the ,constitution4   
,this ,act would also retain enforcement
 of these laws with ,state and ,federal 
law enforcement agencies and allow      
private causes of action by aggrieved   
consumers harmed by unfair trade        
practices4  #d4 ,restoring the          
application of antitrust laws to health 
sector insurers  7a7 ,amendment to      
,mc,carran-,ferguson ,act ,section #c of
 the ,act of ,march #i1 #aide 7#ae      
,u4,s4,c4 #ajac71 commonly known as the 
,mc,carran-,ferguson ,act1 is amended by
 adding at the end the following3  7c7  
7#a7 ,nothing contained in this ,act    
shall modify1 impair1 or supersede the  
operation of any of the antitrust laws  
with respect to the business of health  
insurance 7including the business of    
dental insurance74 ,for purposes of the 
preceding sentence1 the term antitrust  

laws has the meaning given it in        
subsection 7a7 of the first section of  
the ,clayton ,act1 except that such term
 includes section #e of the ,federal    
,trade ,commission ,act to the extent   
that such section #e applies to unfair  
methods of competition4  7#b7 ,for      
purposes of paragraph 7#a71 the term    
business of health insurance 7including 
the business of dental insurance7 does  
not include--  7,a7 the business of life
 insurance 7including annuities72 or    
7,b7 the business of property or        
casualty insurance1 including but not   
limited to1 any insurance or benefits   
defined as #8excepted benefits' under   
paragraph 7#a71 subparagraphs 7,b7 or   
7,c7 of paragraph 7#b71 or paragraph    
7#c7 of section #ihcb7;c7 of the        
,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf 7#bf  
,u4,s4,c4 #ihcb7;c77 whether offered    
separately or in combination with       
insurance or benefits described in      
paragraph 7#b77;,a7 of such section4  4 
7b7 ,related ,provision ,for purposes of

 section #e of the ,federal ,trade      
,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #de7 to 
the extent such section applies to      
unfair methods of competition1 section  
#c7;c7 of the ,mc,carran-,ferguson ,act 
shall apply with respect to the business
 of health insurance without regard to  
whether such business is carried on for 
profit1 notwithstanding the definition  
of ,corporation contained in section #d 
of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act4