This is why I support Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid

In these days of ideological posturing, obstructionism and a ‘citizens be damned’ attitude by those only in Congress to advance their careers and enlarge their wallets, it’s like a ray of warm sunshine when one of our politicians can stand up to an industry and do what is right.

Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, (D-NV) went before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009 (S. 1681), a bill of which Reid is an original cosponsor. The bill was introduced by one of my heros, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT. 

The bill is described as: A bill 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

Damned straight!

As he says, the health insurance industry has for far too long been given a special status completely at odds with the core ideals of the free market and competition. They have been given the ability to employ monopolistic pricing against average citizens and small business owners who have no other affordable choices.

When the late Senator Pat McCarran of Nevada pushed the bill through in 1945 that gave the insurance industry this unreasonable advantage, they were not the huge lobbying force they are today. If McCarran saw what they’ve become - monolithic arbiters of America’s health care choices, awash in industry money to buy politicians - he’d roll over in his grave.

Yet, can you imagine that their are people in Nevada who would unseat Reid from the most powerful post held by a Nevadan? Parade Magazine, the nation’s largest weekly magazine, identified Senator Reid as one of a handful of leaders in Washington with “integrity and guts.” Even archconservative, Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has said, “We all respect Senator Reid. He is one of the moderate voices around here who tries to get things to work.”

At the end of the day, we’re going to get a health insurance reform bill, but I fear it will be flawed at best without more pressure from citizens to include a dynamic public option. But failing that, perhaps men of integrity like Sen. Reid can push through enough supporting reforms to at least make it a bit easier to swallow.

Here are his prepared remarks:

“Mr. Chairman and members of the Judiciary Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify at this hearing.

“Since 1945, the insurance industry has enjoyed exemption from federal antitrust laws because of the McCarran-Ferguson Act. 

“Pat McCarran, who was the senior Senator from Nevada at the time, lent his name to this piece of legislation.  Although we’re both Nevadans, I’m not sure what Pat McCarran had in mind when he pushed this bill.

“And if Pat were around today, he couldn’t be happy with the state of the insurance industry. 

“I’ve received hundreds of letters from constituents who are struggling to find adequate and affordable health care.

“One of my constituents in Boulder City runs a small business.  She’s paying well over $1000 per month for the most basic health care package she can find, her rates keep going up, and there’s no other company that will insure her.

“Another of my constituents, a psychologist who runs a small practice with just a few employees, has always paid 100% of his workers health care costs.  The insurance company he uses has decided to raise his rates by over 46 percent.  He won’t be able to afford to cover his employees for much longer, and they will join the ranks of the uninsured.  And they have no options.

“Free competition is fundamental to our economy and essential to the American character.

“It is of the upmost importance that we make sure the insurance industry is playing by the same rules as everyone else, and that they are subject to competition.

“Competition is what allows great ideas to flourish, and it improves prices and quality for consumers.

“It allows new businesses to enter the market.

“It gives incentives to entrepreneurs, and it fuels innovation. 

“America’s free and open marketplace gives consumers choices and encourages risk taking, and it has been the birthplace for the greatest economy in the history of the world. 

“That is why we have federal laws that prohibit price-fixing, bid rigging and collusion between companies within an industry.  When companies are forced to compete with one another, the American people benefit.

“Providing an exemption for insurance companies to antitrust laws has been anticompetitive and damaging to the American economy.

“Health insurance premiums have continued to rise at a rapid rate, forcing businesses to cut back on health insurance coverage and forcing many families to choose between health insurance and basic necessities. 

“All too often, working families have to forego health insurance.  In fact, the primary reason people are uninsured is due to the high and escalating costs of health insurance.

“The increasing costs also impact the costs of government health program like Medicare and Medicaid and the costs of providing health insurance to federal government employees.

And despite rising costs, insurance companies are accused of underpaying doctors for their services.

“And we’ve seen exactly what you would expect to see when you protect an industry from antitrust laws:

“Insurance companies have become so large they dominate entire regions of the country.

“They have become so powerful they block start up businesses from entering the market, and they put smaller companies out of business.

“They have become so dominant that they dictate business practices.

“They are so influential that they exert tremendous influence over public policy.

“In particular, exempting health insurance companies has had a negative effect on the American people.  

“Health insurance companies have so much authority that they often dictate what course of treatment patients will receive.

“Health insurance monopolies shouldn’t be making health care decisions for patients.  No one should come between a patient and their Doctor when it comes to making health care decisions.

“Patients should be able to choose, just like members of Congress are able to choose, from a variety of different health care plans.  

“There is no reason why insurance companies should be allowed to form monopolies and dictate health choices.

“There is no reason why the insurance companies should have exemption from antitrust laws.  To the extent insurance companies need to share information to provide their services, let them do what other industries have to do – seek prior authorization and guidelines from the Department of Justice for how they can work together. 

“They should be subject to the same federal oversight as every other industry.  Their price-setting and information sharing practices should not be permitted to take place out of public view, but should be brought out into the light of day.

“I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act.  Thank you.”