House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she would move a bill to the floor next week that effectively strips health insurance companies of their antitrust exemption.
The move to fast-track the measure could hint at a broader strategy by House leaders to pass components of a much lengthier reform bill now stalled on both sides of the Capitol Dome.
Pelosi made the announcement on a conference call with progressive bloggers on Tuesday, but relayed details to reporters through a spokesman.
“There's a lot of support within the caucus to hold the insurance companies accountable,” spokesman Nadeam Elshami said.
A provision to revoke the exemption was included in the House-passed reform package.
The House could pass several more smaller-scale bills, Elshami said.
The Senate, however, could prove cold to such a plan.
Emerging from a meeting with Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sounded a cautious note.
“We'll be happy to take a look at it,” he said about the bill. “But the Senate, we've made no decisions on healthcare—how we're going to proceed.”
What do you think? Post a comment on this article and share your opinion with other readers. Submit your comments to Modern Healthcare Online at [email protected]. Please be sure to include your hometown and state, along with your organization and title.
Send us a letter
Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.
