Advocacy

National Legislation

AGD continuously monitors national legislation so that the organization can communicate the interest of the general dentist to interested parties. In addition, the organization maintains policies to communicate the AGD position when speaking to national legislators on the general dentists’ behalf.

AGD encourages its members to advocate on behalf of the profession as well. Review the current list of the AGD dental care and legislative policies to use in your communications with local lawmakers.

In addition, the AGD publishes updates on national legislation that may affect general dentists. Click on the links below to learn more about national legislation that the AGD is monitoring or view earlier legislative updates from the AGD by click on the archive link on the right.

October 2009 Archives 
  Dental Coverage in CHIPRA
  Overturning McCarran-Ferguson’s Antitrust Exemption Possible in Health Care Reform   Legislation to Provide Funding for Small Businesses
  IOM to Recommend Improvements to U.S. Oral Health Care Delivery System   Hearing Held on Legislation Proposing to Overturn McCarran-Ferguson
  GAO Report on State and Federal Actions to Increase Children’s Access to Oral Health Services   Bills Trying to Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Antitrust Exemption for Insurance Companies
  “Public Option” Amendments Rejected by Senate Finance Committee   Dental-Related Amendments in House and Senate Committee Mark-Ups on Health Care Reform
  SBA Programs Extended

Bills Trying to Repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Antitrust Exemption for Insurance Companies

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Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.-14), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, jointly introduced draft legislation on Sept. 17, 2009, that would repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act as it applies to health and medical malpractice insurers. Specifically, the legislation, titled the Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act, would repeal health and medical malpractice insurers’ exemption from federal antitrust laws and subject them to antitrust regulation by the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The intent is to make the health insurance industry more competitive and potentially drive down costs.

 

The Leahy-Conyers measure is a narrower version of a broader bill (H.R. 1583) introduced in the House by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.-4). This act would only repeal the exemption for the most egregious forms of antitrust violations - price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocations. Additionally, the bill will subject health insurers and medical malpractice insurers to the same good-competition laws that apply to virtually every other company doing business in the United States. The other bill, H.R. 1583, proposed back in March 20009, would completely repeal the McCarran-Ferguson Act. 

 

Although the Leahy-Conyers measure has not yet been assigned a bill number (the draft bill is available here), the AGD has already been advocating for the passage of H.R. 1583. On Friday, June 12, the AGD sent out a blast email action alert to its U.S. members asking them to contact their Congressman about H.R.  1583, the Insurance Industry Competition Act of 2009, which would make federal antitrust laws applicable to insurance companies by amending the McCarran-Ferguson Act to repeal the antitrust exemption for the “business of insurance.” To date, over 1,100 messages have been sent through Capwiz to Members of Congress just on H.R.1583!

 

Subjecting health and medical malpractice insurers to federal antitrust laws would prevent collusion and could lead to more competitive reimbursement rates for providers. While there is a great deal of interest in overturning the McCarran-Ferguson Act and significant chatter that such a provision could be included in health care reform, there also is strong support for the antitrust exemption from the insurance industry. The AGD will continue to advocate strongly on this issue.

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