Antitrust

March 11, 2010 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) today pressed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski on the implications for consumers on the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC.

Kerry is the Chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

The full text of Senator Kerry’s statement as prepared is below:

Thank you Mr. Chairman. The proposed merger we are discussing today would create a unique and powerful company. And I have faith that the Chairman of the FCC, Julius Genachowski, and the Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, Christine Varney, will conduct a fair review and impose sensible conditions on it.    » read more »

February 24, 2010 -- "I commend the House’s vote today to eliminate the health insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws. Ending this exemption will help ensure that health insurers compete rather than collude. Members in both chambers recognize that this repeal is needed.

"We cannot introduce competition to the health insurance market while allowing the insurance industry to hide behind a special-interest, anachronistic, statutory antitrust immunity. A study released by the American Medical Association today shows that competition in the health insurance industry is shrinking. Our laws should not preclude the Justice Department from investigating antitrust abuses that can result in higher prices for consumers.    » read more »

Rep. Pascrell Led Efforts in House of Reps, Including Letter to DOJ Signed by 50 Members, Opposing the Merger

January 25, 2010 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s approval of the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.

“I am currently reviewing the Justice Department’s decision, but clearly I am disappointed. One has to wonder what it was that U.S. antitrust authorities saw as a greater priority than American consumers and the free market,” said Pascrell, who testified against the merger before the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee last year.    » read more »

Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Lost Competition in Sale of Milk to School Districts and Retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin

January 22, 2010 -- WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today against Dean Foods Company challenging its April 2009 acquisition of Foremost Farms USA’s Consumer Products Division. The department said that the merger eliminates substantial competition between the two companies in the sale of milk to schools, grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.    » read more »

January 22, 2010 -- “I am pleased that the Department of Justice has moved forward to block a portion of Dean Foods’ acquisition of Foremost Farms. I have had concerns about the impact of this and similar acquisitions on the already hurting dairy industry.

"The Department is following through with its pledge to examine market consolidation in the dairy industry, where farmers have been hit by sinking prices while milk processors and distributors are posting increased profits.

"It is appropriate for the Department to examine this acquisition closely, particularly at a time when dairy farmers are hurting, and dairy companies are not passing on savings to consumers.”    » read more »

Feingold Praises Justice Department Blocking Of Anti-Competitive Dean Foods Merger

January 22, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold stated his support today for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) move to block the acquisition of Foremost Farms by Dean Foods, which would have led to a single company dominating the market for fluid milk in parts of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.

In May 2009, Feingold, a long-time advocate for more competition in the dairy industry, flagged the possible acquisition for the Justice Department’s Antitrust division including concerns about how the acquisition could affect school lunch programs in Wisconsin. Following the Justice Department’s announced intervention, Feingold released the following statement:    » read more »

"Repeal Insurance Antitrust Exemptions in Health Care Reform"

January 14, 2010 -- Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, along with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy called on President Obama, Majority Leader Reid, and Speaker Pelosi to request the "inclusion of language that repeals the Federal antitrust exemption for health insurers and medical malpractice insurers in the final Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that is signed into law."    » read more »

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009) – Ten state Attorneys General are backing legislation authored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to repeal the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries’ exemption from federal antitrust laws.

In a letter dated November 13, Attorneys General from Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon, Arizona, Iowa, Montana, Florida and Wyoming urge Congress to end the decades-old exemption from federal antitrust laws, which are designed to encourage competition and protect consumers. Dating back to the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act, health insurers and medical malpractice insurers have been exempt from these laws. Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on the exemption in October.    » read more »

Responding To Schumer's Call, DOJ's Head Of Antitrust Investigations Will Come To New York To Explore Anticompetitive Practices In The Dairy Industry

November 16, 2009 -- Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that at his urging Christine A. Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, will come to New York to meet with dairy farmers and consumers to explore potential anticompetitive behavior on the part of dairy processors.    » read more »

Says FTC Investigation Of CVS/Caremark Merger Is Necessary To Ensure Fair Competition

November 6, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) today welcomed the news that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the 2007 merger of CVS and Caremark, saying it is necessary to ensure fair competition in the prescription drug market.

In July, Senator Dorgan, along with Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), sent a letter to the FTC stating that the combination of Caremark and CVS “created a heightened opportunity for anticompetitive conduct in the prescription drug market.” They requested that the FTC investigate the merger because it was hurting Main Street pharmacies.    » read more »

Washington, Oct 16, 2009 - Today Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) issued the following statement calling for an end to special advantages for health insurance companies:

“For far too long, health insurance companies have been exempted from playing by the rules that most other businesses must live by. They have abused that benefit. Now is the time to require them to abide by the same rules as everyone else. I believe it is long past time to repeal this exemption.

“By limiting the health insurance industry’s antitrust immunity, we will make sure that the federal government investigates and prosecutes health insurance companies for anti-competitive practices, including price-fixing, bid-rigging, or market allocations.    » read more »

Under 1945 Law, Insurance Industry Among Only Handful Of Industries -- Like Major League Baseball and Railroads -- To Be Exempt From Federal Antitrust Laws

October 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC—Days after the health insurance industry openly declared it will use the emerging health care reform overhaul as an excuse to raise premiums on millions of Americans, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) urged Wednesday that the legislation should include a new provision to revoke the industry’s anti-trust exemption.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- October 14, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Wednesday announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on October 21 to examine health care fraud prevention.    » read more »

WASHINGTON -- October 14, 2009 – The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday held a hearing on legislation to repeal a federal antitrust exemption currently enjoyed by the health insurance and medical malpractice insurance industries. Legislation introduced by Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in September will repeal the exemption established in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act. The Health Insurance Antitrust Enforcement Act was the focus of Wednesday’s hearing.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) testified before the panel in support of the legislation. Reid is a cosponsor of Leahy-authored bill. Also testifying on Wednesday was Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney, who leads the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice.    » read more »

Senate Judiciary Committee

October 14, 2009 -- As prepared for delivery -- “The antitrust laws enacted in the early 20th century provide essential protections for consumers and businesses, and those protections should apply to Americans buying health and medical malpractice insurance.

As Congress debates the costs of health care, it is very much worth nothing that purchasers of these insurance policies are particularly susceptible to industry collusion leading to inflated prices. But under current law, health and medical malpractice insurance providers are exempt from federal antitrust regulations. This is because, as we all know, the insurance industry was given a statutory exemption from antitrust laws over sixty years ago by the McCarren-Ferguson Act.    » read more »