Congress Scrutinizing Comcast-TWC

The proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, announced last week, is already drawing scrutiny and opposition from members of Congress, The Hill reports.  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and antitrust subcommittee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL) have announced plans to hold an oversight hearing (see press release here).

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) released a noncommittal statement indicating that he would be watching the response of the antitrust authorities and the Federal Communications Commission.  Fellow Senator Al Franken (D-MN), who was quite publicly objected to AT&T’s failed acquisition of T-Mobile, has been far more vocal in his opposition, urging FCC Chairman Wheeler, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Ramirez, and Attorney General Holder to oppose further concentration in the industry.

The full article may be found here.

posted by Anant Raut

Bill Permitting Independent Pharmacies to Negotiate Jointly Introduced in Congress

On March 14, Rep. Tom Marino of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 1188, a bill that would permit independent pharmacies to negotiate jointly with insurers concerning reimbursement rates. The text of the bill is not yet available, but will be posted on this blog when it is. For now, the bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Rep. Marino is a member, for further action.

Similar legislation was introduced by Rep. Marino last Congress as H.R. 1946, the “Preserving our Hometown Independent Pharmacies Act of 2011,” but failed to be enacted. A link to that legislation can be found here

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c112:6:./temp/~c1126Qoc3Z::

Posted by Jim Burns

Rep. Grayson Introduces Antitrust Legislation

On March 13, Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida introduced HR 1113, which would make the antitrust laws applicable to a political action committees created under the Federal Election Campaign Act. The text of the legislation is not yet available, but once it becomes available it will be posted on this blog. A copy of similar legislation introduced by Rep. Grayson in the 111th Congress can be found at the following link

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:6:./temp/~c111HlBskZ::

HR 1113 is only one of several bills recently introduced by Rep. Grayson to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act. HR 1113 has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further action.

Posted by Jim Burns

Rep. Gosar’s McCarran Repeal Bill Text Becomes Available

The text of H.R. 911, the McCarran repeal bill introduced by Rep. Gosar on 2/28, is now available. A link to the text can be found at
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.911

Notably, unlike the McCarran repeal bills that Rep. Gosar introduced last Congress, H.R. 911 does NOT include a provision that would bar antitrust class actions against insurers. Instead, the provisions are largely the same as those in H.R. 344 (the Lynch bill) and H.R. 743 (the DeFazio bill), and would repeal the antitrust exemption in the McCarran Ferguson Act as to health insurers. Links to H.R. 344 and H.R. 743 can be found in earlier posts of this blog.

Posted by Jim Burns

Text of DeFazio McCarran Repeal Bill Becomes Available

The text of H.R. 743, the legislation recently introduced by Rep. DeFazio that would repeal the McCarran Ferguson Act’s antitrust exemption for healthcare insurers, is now available. A link to the legislation can be found here:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.743:

The bill appears to be identical to legislation Representative DeFazio has introduced in the past, and Representative DeFazio has publicly stated that he sees “no reason” why the bill should not be enacted into law, given the strong support his prior bill received. (In 2010, the legislation passed in the House by a vote of 406-19, but was never acted upon in the Senate).

H.R. 743 now joins H.R. 99 (the Conyers bill) and H.R. 344 (the Lynch bill), all of which would repeal McCarran’s antitrust exemption for health insurers.

Posted by Jim Burns

House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on the American Airlines/USAirways Merger

As previously noted on this blog, on February 26 the House Judiciary Antitrust subcommittee was scheduled to conduct a hearing on the proposed merger between American Airlines and USAirways. Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte’s opening statement for the hearing, as well as the list of all those testifying, can be found at the link set forth below.

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/113th/hear_02262013_2.html

Posted by Jim Burns

Representative DeFazio Introduces McCarran Repeal Bill

On February 15, Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon introduced legislation that would “restore the application of the federal antitrust laws to the business of health insurance.” The bill, H.R. 743, is not yet publicly available, but is undoubtedly similar, if not identical, to legislation that Representative DeFazio has introduced in prior legislative sessions that would repeal the McCarran Ferguson Act’s antitrust exemption for health insurers. Similar legislation has also been introduced this Congress as H.R. 99 (by Rep. Conyers) and H.R. 344 (by Rep. Lynch). The texts of H.R. 99 and 344 can be accessed as links to our earlier blog posts; the text of H.R. 743 will be posted when available.

All three bills have been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further action.

A link to an article that appeared in The Hill, describing the legislation, can be found at
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-insurance/283823-house-dems-target-insurers-antitrust-exemption

Posted by Jim Burns

Text of New McCarran Repeal Legislation Becomes Available

The text of H.R. 344, the McCarran repeal legislation recently introduced by Congressman Lynch (D. Mass), is now available. A link can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.344:

Notably, the legislation differs in some respects from Rep. Conyers’s McCarran repeal bill (H.R. 99) in that Rep. Lynch’s bill would only repeal the McCarran Ferguson Act’s antitrust exemption for health insurers, while the Conyers bill would also repeal the exemption for medical malpractice insurers.

Both bills have been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for further action.

Posted by Jim Burns

Congressman Bachus to Lead House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee

The Hill reports today that Representative Spencer Bachus (Alabama) has been chosen to lead the House Judiciary’s antitrust subpanel (as previously reported on this blog). A link to the article discussing the appointment, and several other Judiciary Committee appointments, can be found here

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/278839-house-judiciary-chairman-announces-subcommittee-assignments-for-gop-members

Posted by Jim Burns

Text of new McCarran Repeal Bill Becomes Available

The text of the new McCarran repeal legislation that was introduced last week by Rep. Conyers has now been released by the Government Printing Office. A copy of the text, which appears to be similar to the McCarran repeal legislation Rep. Conyers last Congress, can be accessed at the following link:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c113:H.R.99:

Posted by Jim Burns