NU Online News Service, Jan.14, 3:29 p.m.EST

WASHINGTON–Eighteen Democratic senators have writtencongressional leaders and the White House urging that the finalhealth care reform bill draft include language repealing theantitrust exemption afforded health and medical liabilityinsurers.

At the same time, insurance industry officials are lobbyingsenators not to vote for any final bill that includes such aprovision, especially as it regards medical liability insurers.

The senators' letter was written under the aegis of Sen. PatrickLeahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sentto President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Nancy Pelosi,D-Calif., the speaker of the House. They are leading intensenegotiations aimed at producing a compromise bill combiningversions of health care delivery reform legislation passed by theHouse and Senate.

"For nearly 65 years, the insurance industry has been exemptfrom federal antitrust laws. Regulation of the insurance industryhas been left with the states, which often lack the time andresources to effectively investigate antitrust conspiracies," thesenators wrote.

Thus, the letter said, "the competitive activities of healthinsurers and medical malpractice insurers remain effectivelyunchecked."

"While there are divergent views on the best way to introducechoice and competition into the health insurance market, we cansurely agree that health and medical malpractice insurers shouldnot be allowed to collude to set prices and allocate markets," theletter added.

The letter noted that the House version contains such aprovision, while the Senate version does not. It explained that theSenate failed to include one despite the fact that 23 senatorsco-sponsored an amendment to the Senate bill that would haverepealed the antitrust exemption.

"Regrettably, there was no opportunity for it to be offeredduring Senate debate," the letter said.

"This reform is long overdue and the time to act is now," theletter said. "We look forward to working with you to ensure thatrepeal of the antitrust exemption for health insurers and medicalmalpractice insurers is included in the final health insurancereform bill that is signed into law," it added.

Meanwhile, as part of the insurers lobbying effort against sucha move, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI)placed an advertisement in the tabloid newspaper published inWashington, Politico, warning that including medicalliability insurers in such legislation could lead "us into anothermedical malpractice crisis across the country."

The PCI ad said such repeal "could have major negativerepercussions for consumers. Changing the system could reignite amedical malpractice crisis, leading to reduced insurer competition,fewer options for medical practitioners and increased costs forpatients." it said.

It added that if the exemption provided medical liabilityinsurers is repealed, medical joint underwriting associations"could disappear if not allowed to access historical data."

This could "begin to erode insurance marketplaces, particularlyfor the medical communities with JUAs [Joint UnderwritingAuthorities] in Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, NewHampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington andWisconsin."

"We ask Congress not to reignite an old medical malpracticecrisis–and instead preserve what has served consumers well for over60 years," PCI wrote.