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Most blog posts talk about the mundane. Kinda like a Seinfeld skit. “You know when I brush my teeth with that mouthwash toothpaste, am I really brushing my teeth, or rinsing my mouth?” Usually blogs on dental sites don’t cover the political, but sometimes it’s relevant to do so, if it concerns your dental insurance.

HR 1583, if it passes, will govern not only dental, but health insurance regulation nationally. It’s also called the Insurance Industry Competition Act of 2009, and basically what it does is apply anti-trust laws to insurance companies. For the last 65 years, the “business of insurance” has been exempt from antitrust regulation, per the McCarran-Ferguson Act.

Currently, insurance companies are allowed to share related information by cooperative ratemaking efforts, and to fix prices, and allocate markets. HR 1583 appoints the Dept. Of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address unfair methods of competition in the insurance industry, such as price fixing, agreements not to pay, and agreeing upon geographical territories.

Now, of course not all insurance companies engage in such practices, but it is reassuring to know that those who did, will no longer be able to. Perhaps this legislation will make all insurance companies openly compete for your business. May the best company win.

Read more about HR 1583 below, and if you support it, write to your local Representative and let them know. Tell them you found out about it on Free Dentist Finder.com

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1583/show

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-1583

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