Goodlatte, Marino, Conyers and Johnson Announce Hearings on Competition in the Health Care Marketplace

Washington, D.C.— House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Ranking Member John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Ranking Member Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (D-Ga.) today announced that the Committee plans to hold a series of hearings exploring competition within the health care marketplace in the United States. The hearing series will examine a broad array of competition issues in the health care marketplace, including increasing consolidation in various health care industries, whether the Affordable Care Act played a role in this consolidation, and the consequent impact to the American consumer. Beginning in September, the first hearing in the series will focus on how the Affordable Care Act may have played a role in the consolidation of the health care industry and the related impact on accessibility and affordability of health care for the American consumer.  The second hearing in the series will examine consolidation in the health insurance industry, including the proposed mergers between the health insurance companies Aetna and Humana, and, if finalized, Anthem and Cigna. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Ranking Member John Conyers Jr., Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.) and Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Ranking Member Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) issued the following statements on the upcoming hearing series: Chairman Goodlatte: “Without question, the enactment of Obamacare has prompted increased consolidation in the health care industry.  The upcoming planned series of hearings on competition in the health care marketplace continues the Committee’s history of vigilant oversight into this important industry that touches nearly every American. “A concern that I have raised time and again is that, in the health care marketplace, the will of the market is being displaced by the judgment of the federal government.  That fear was realized when Obamacare was enacted into law and we are seeing its tangible effects today. “I look forward to working with Subcommittee Chairman Marino, and I am pleased that the Committee will be examining these important marketplace issues for the benefit of the American consumer.” Subcommittee Chairman Marino: “Competition is central to every marketplace in our economy. It incentivizes better products and services for consumers. None is more important than healthcare.  However, the federal government has continued to stifle competition. In many ways it is in the very nature of government to overregulate and unnecessarily encroach in the marketplace. “The best, and perhaps most recent, example of this is the Affordable Care Act. Since its passage we have seen one negative impact on the healthcare industry after another. We must work to ensure government restrains itself to its proper oversight role, rather than directing market decisions through regulation.  These hearings present an opportunity for us to review recently announced mergers of health care systems across the country and several major insurance providers.  When it come to the health of our citizenry, these are considerations we must review.” Ranking Member Conyers, Jr. and Subcommittee Ranking Member Johnson: “The health care industry has several potential competition issues, including the lack of competition among health insurance companies due to the unwarranted antitrust exemption they enjoy under McCarran-Ferguson.  Additionally, consolidation in the health insurance market had been occurring for decades before passage of the Affordable Care Act, largely as the result of faulty laws and lax antitrust enforcement, resulting in potential harm to consumers due to further rapid consolidation among health insurers.  The Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges, in combination with vigorous antitrust enforcement, can assist in alleviating some of the problems that are the result of decades of too little competition by instead  fostering competition with existing insurers and allowing for new and innovative players to enter the market.  We look forward to the opportunity to examine the impact on consumers of further concentration among health insurers, among other issues.”