[for Vermont]
Dear [Moi],
| Health insurance giants are fighting to keep their monopoly. I need your help to break it. Please urge your members of Congress to support The Health Insurance Antitrust Enforcement Act today.  |
The health insurance lobby has worked behind the scenes for months to undermine congressional efforts to fix America's broken health care system.
Now they're pulling back the curtain, waging an outrageous public campaign to kill health care reform...again.
They're running new ads. They're threatening to raise premiums if Congress passes reform.
And now America's biggest insurance companies, represented by the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) special interest group, are growing particularly concerned about our efforts to break up their monopoly.
Over 21,000 LeahyForVermont.com activists have already taken action, but we need your help today to keep up the pressure.
We held a very successful hearing on this pro-competition legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid testified before the Committee to express their strong support for a repeal of the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act.
They, like most Americans, believe insurance companies should be subject to the same antitrust regulations that virtually every other business in America faces.
I hope you'll join them, right now, and make your voice heard too.
The only real voices opposed to lifting this peculiar exemption come from the health insurance lobby. After all, if insurance companies are forced to compete, they will have a much tougher time denying you coverage and jacking up your premiums at four times the rate of inflation.
That's why AHIP's chief lobbyist, Karen Ignagni, recently sent me a letter to tell me the insurance giants she represents will oppose our efforts to promote competition and break up insurance monopolies.
Unfortunately for her, I came to Washington to fight for all Americans, not the narrow interests of one particular industry which has put profits before people for far too long.
But I need your help to make sure my colleagues in Congress know the American people are behind my legislation.
In the coming weeks, the full Senate will vote on The Health Insurance Antitrust Enforcement Act in the context of comprehensive health care reform, so please take action today.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator
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