U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today announced that his bipartisan bill promoting access to affordable health care for Montanans by increasing transparency and enhancing consumer protections in the health insurance industry has been signed into law by the President.
“My bipartisan bill will now ensure greater transparency and oversight in the health insurance industry and help make health insurance more affordable for Montanans and Americans across the country. I’m glad the President has signed this commonsense bill into law,” Daines said.
A Bozeman Dentist praised Daines’ bill and work getting it signed into law. Watch the full video HERE. For TV elements, click HERE.
The “Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act” will ensure that health insurance issuers are subject to the same federal antitrust laws prohibiting unfair trade practices, such as price fixing and collusion, as virtually every other industry in our economy.
The bipartisan bill amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act to restore the application of federal antitrust laws to the health insurance industry, but does not interfere with or impact the authority of state authorities to regulate health insurance provided under the act. This bill will help address instances of artificially higher premiums, unfair insurance restrictions, and harmful policy exclusions.
Statements of Support:
“The 600 licensed dentists in Montana appreciate the work of Senator Daines to directly engage with these powerful insurance companies. He tackled a problem that had been seeking a true champion for more than 20 years. Senator Daines did what others could not or would not do and he is an invaluable asset to those of us who live and work in Montana.” – Al Garver, Executive Director, Montana Dental Association
“Thank you to our Senator, Steve Daines, for leading the way on expanded access to quality health care in our communities, and for making accountability, fairness and more pro-patient competition the immediate priorities in Washington, DC. Sen. Daines’ bill to eliminate the outdated and harmful anti-trust exemption for insurers is a tremendous step forward for patients and doctors in Montana and across our country, and I’m proud to support it.” – Dr. Ron Benner, Owner, Southern Montana Optometric Center
“The passage of Senator Daines’ Competitive Health Insurance Reform Bill is a landmark achievement for patient advocates and Montanans. This bill, which has been 15-years in the making, prevents collusion between health insurers, but most importantly, drives transparency, competition, and value. We couldn’t be more proud and grateful to the Senator for his advocacy!” – Jane Gillette, Former President, Montana Dental Association
Background:
On February 19th, 2019, Senator Daines introduced the bipartisan legislation in the Senate.