NU Online News Service, Oct. 26, 2:43 p.m. EDT
The bill approved by the House Judiciary Committee repealing health and malpractice insurers' limited exemption from antitrust laws will not impact health insurers' credit ratings, said Moody's Investors Service.
The Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009, which passed the committee Wednesday, "is not seen as having a meaningful impact on the credit quality of the sector," the rating firm said in its Weekly Credit Outlook.
Moody's added it does "not believe it [the bill] would fundamentally change the way health insurers operate or lessen the barriers to entry and change the competitive landscape."
However, the rating firm said the measure may result in more audits and interrogatories of all health insurance companies.
The company added that it still believes the current versions of health care reform legislation being debated in Congress would have an overall negative credit impact on the health insurance companies.
"Our view on the bill is that the individual states have exercised a rather robust oversight of the health insurance industry, including the areas of pricing and competition. Although some health insurers may enjoy near-monopolies in some regions, this has developed from a combination of state regulation and other financial barriers to entry," the company said.
The legislation would repeal a portion of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, thus permitting the federal government's enforcement and oversight in the areas of price-fixing and bidding.
As approved by the House Judiciary Committee, the bill would maintain state responsibility for oversight of premium rate setting activities. A similar bill is being introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Moody's said it believes both chambers of Congress will include the antitrust measure in the overall health care reform legislation that is being developed.
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