Dude, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat from California, is Like, Totally Awesome

I write to my Senators and Congressman and sometimes, I get answers.  Senator Feinstein sent me an email response (okay, she probably sent it to all her constituents who wrote to her) but check this out, the McCarran Ferguson Act of 1945 is set to go bye-bye and with it the monopoly the insurance companies have benefited from for the past 64 years.  Now, it's a first step and a good one, but when it comes to health insurance specfically, they need to address the ERISA laws as well.  And from Rachel Maddow's show last night this:

At the beginning of the day today, the health insurance industry and Major League Baseball had one thing in common. They both enjoyed a privileged status, courtesy of the federal government. Unlike other industries, health insurance and baseball are allowed to be monopolies in this country.

Major League Baseball gets to operate without competition from other baseball leagues, and health insurance companies are exempt from the federal laws that block every other industry, just about from doing things like price fixing, or tactics that aren't fair to the competition.

Health insurance and baseball-two industries in this country that, as of today, have special permission to not have to compete. It's a nice work if you can get it, right? Well, as of today, one of them might not be getting it anymore. It looks like baseball might be the only industry of those two that gets to keep that special position.

Today, Democrats in Congress move to end the 64-year-old exemption that allows the health insurance industry to basically act as a monopoly, by a vote of 20-to-nine, the House Judiciary Committee voted to strip the health insurance industry of its privileged status.

In the Senate, Democrats announced today that they intend to do the same thing in coming weeks.

Letter from Senator Feinstein:

Dear Mrs. Welman Paez:

Thank you for writing to express your support for S. 1681, the "Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act." I appreciate hearing from you and welcome the opportunity to respond.

The escalating cost of health premiums continues to make obtaining health insurance difficult, if not impossible, for many Americans. I believe that all Californians should have access to high-quality, affordable health care services and reducing healthcare premium costs is absolutely essential in this regard. As you may know, the insurance industry is one of the few industries that has an exemption from Federal antitrust laws. Between 2000 and 2007, combined profits for 10 of the country's largest publically traded insurance companies rose 428 percent. I believe it is important to ensure that the health insurance marketplace remains a vibrant and equitable forum where businesses compete fairly and comply with applicable guidelines.

On September 17, 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 1681, the "Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act," and I am pleased to report to you that I am an original cosponsor. This legislation would eliminate the antitrust exemption for health insurance and medical malpractice insurance companies when they engage in anti-competitive behaviors, including price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocations.

S. 1681 has been referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, of which I am a member.

Again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will continue to keep in touch on issues of importance to you. If you should have any further questions or comments, please feel free to call my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne Feinstein

United States Senator

Image above from Wikipedia.