In a letter to its members, MoveOn.org recommends “Hold insurance companies to the same anti-trust laws as other companies. Right now, insurance companies are exempt from laws designed to prevent monopolies and price-gouging. The House bill would fix this, and so should the final bill.”
According to a New York Times article of Dec. 19, 2009, the Senate proposal “…would strip health insurance companies of their antitrust exemption. It would outlaw price fixing, bid rigging and ‘market allocation’ by companies that sell health insurance or medical malpractice insurance.”
This is an approach supported by most Republicans and many Democrats to curtail excessive health costs for consumers. Prices will tumble when insurance companies have to face dozens of competitors, not just compete against one or two with what amounts to a ‘nod and a wink.’
