[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1418 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1418
To restore the application of the Federal antitrust laws to the
business of health insurance to protect competition and consumers.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2019
Mr. DeFazio (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Lynch, Mr.
Grijalva, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Norman, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Davidson of
Ohio, and Mr. Yoho) introduced the following bill; 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 consumers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Competitive Health Insurance Reform
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. RESTORING THE APPLICATION OF ANTITRUST LAWS TO THE BUSINESS OF
HEALTH INSURANCE.
(a) Amendment to McCarran-Ferguson Act.--Section 3 of the Act of
March 9, 1945 (15 U.S.C. 1013), commonly known as the McCarran-Ferguson
Act, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c)(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall modify, impair, or
supersede the operation of any of the antitrust laws with respect to
the business of health insurance (including the business of dental
insurance and limited-scope dental benefits).
``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to making a
contract, or engaging in a combination or conspiracy--
``(A) to collect, compile, or disseminate historical loss
data;
``(B) to determine a loss development factor applicable to
historical loss data;
``(C) to perform actuarial services if such contract,
combination, or conspiracy does not involve a restraint of
trade; or
``(D) to develop or disseminate a standard insurance policy
form (including a standard addendum to an insurance policy form
and standard terminology in an insurance policy form) if such
contract, combination, or conspiracy is not to adhere to such
standard form or require adherence to such standard form.
``(3) For purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `antitrust laws' has the meaning given it in
subsection (a) of the first section of the Clayton Act (15
U.S.C. 12), except that such term includes section 5 of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent that
such section 5 applies to unfair methods of competition;
``(B) the term `business of health insurance (including the
business of dental insurance and limited-scope dental
benefits)' does not include--
``(i) the business of life insurance (including
annuities); or
``(ii) the business of property or casualty
insurance, including but not limited to--
``(I) any insurance or benefits defined as
`excepted benefits' under paragraph (1),
subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (2), or
paragraph (3) of section 9832(c) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
9832(c)) whether offered separately or in
combination with insurance or benefits
described in paragraph (2)(A) of such section;
and
``(II) any other line of insurance that is
classified as property or casualty insurance
under State law;
``(C) the term `historical loss data' means information
respecting claims paid, or reserves held for claims reported,
by any person engaged in the business of insurance; and
``(D) the term `loss development factor' means an
adjustment to be made to reserves held for losses incurred for
claims reported by any person engaged in the business of
insurance, for the purpose of bringing such reserves to an
ultimate paid basis.''.
(b) Related Provision.--For purposes of section 5 of the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45) to the extent such section applies
to unfair methods of competition, section 3(c) of the McCarran-Ferguson
Act shall apply with respect to the business of health insurance
without regard to whether such business is carried on for profit,
notwithstanding the definition of ``Corporation'' contained in section
4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
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