Administration Signals Support for Antitrust Repeal

The antitrust exemption enjoyed by insurers is coming under increased scrutiny in the health care reform debate. In his weekly radio address, President Obama accused the insurance industry of seeking to thwart efforts at health care reform.

“The fact is, the insurance industry is making this last-ditch effort to stop reform even as costs continue to rise and our health care dollars continue to be poured into their profits, bonuses, and administrative costs that do nothing to make us healthy – that often actually go toward figuring out how to avoid covering people,” Obama said. “And they’re earning these profits and bonuses while enjoying a privileged exception from our anti-trust laws, a matter that Congress is rightfully reviewing.”

Senior Adviser to the President, David Axelrod, was less committal when pressed on the President’s remarks on ABC’s This Week. “We’ll see what Congress does,” Axelrod told host George Stephanopoulos.

For more information, click here for coverage of last week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the topic, and check back shortly for more updates and analysis.