Insurance industry anti-trust exemption: What are the pros and cons? (NT)

[Eric J in MN]

NT

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Pros for eliminating the exemption are that those bloodsuckers

would have to compete for real and not jack up premiums just because they can get away with it.

I can't think of any cons.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. The cons are the insurance execs themselves. I've never seen

a bigger bunch of cons.

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. It was originally set up as a benefit to insurance companies

to offer their plans through employers as a means of propping up salaries and benefits.

The blood sucking leeches USED to be a legitimate service. That morphed into the monster we have calling the shots on care now.

Anything set up to benefit them needs to go away and pronto.

The way it is now, because of the exemption, they are legally allowed to fix rates amongst them as well as share information about their "customers" with each other.

If we want to make them competitive, we need this exemption to Anti-trust removed.

[elleng]

6. Benefit also to States that wanted to regulate intra-state insurance cos.

NY is one state which has used this ability.

[Eric J in MN]

8. Can you explain more about the original purpose of giving them the exemption? NT

NT

[backscatter712]

4. I can't see any significant benefit to letting the insurance monsters have an anti-trust exemption.

Pros of repealing it would be increased regulation, smacking-down of collusion, price-fixing and predatory business practices.

Of course, if a rethug gets back in the Oval Office, he won't enforce anti-trust...

[elleng]

5. But WE will.

There's the ability to sue a violator for damages.

[Overseas]

7. Pro-- they make lots of money to bribe our legislators.

Con-- they make lots of money to bribe our legislators.

Pro for them. Con for us.

(edited grammar.)