McCarran Repeal Legislation Introduced By Congressman John Conyers

On May 18, Representative John Conyers (D) of Michigan introduced the "Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2012," a bill that would repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act's antitrust exemption for health and medical malpractice insurers.

Representative Conyers has long been a leader in advocating the repeal of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, and his new bill (H.R. 5838) tracks McCarran repeal language he has introduced in prior sessions of Congress. Specifically, the bill provides that "Nothing in the McCarran- Ferguson Act shall be construed to permit health insurance issuers or issuers of medical malpractice insurance to engage in any form of price fixing, bid rigging or market allocations in connection with the conduct of the business of providing insurance coverage." The bill would also make Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits "unfair methods of competition," applicable to health insurers (currently the McCarran-Ferguson Act