A long-time legislative priority of the ADA and the AAPD was achieved on December 22, 2020 when the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the McCarran-Ferguson antitrust exemption for health insurance companies by passing HR 1418, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act. The House previously passed the bill on September 21, 2020. The President signed the bill into law on January 13, 2021.

The bill amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act to restore the application of federal antitrust laws to the health insurance industry, but does not otherwise interfere with or impact the authority of state authorities to regulate health insurance provided under the act.

This success was possible thanks to the leadership of Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and House members Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.4th) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz. 4th). Gosar, an ADA member dentist, has been the primary and leading congressional advocate for the bill’s passage since being elected to Congress in 2010.

The bill was supported by many other dental organizations in addition to the ADA and AAPD, plus many consumer groups. Click here to read more from ADA News.

The AAPD thanks all those who contributed to the advocacy efforts on this issue, by responding to Action Alerts and advocating for the repeal during AAPD’s annual Pediatric Oral Health Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C.

For more information please contact C. Scott Litch, Esq., CAE, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at slitch@aapd.org.