Law360 (November 20, 2020, 10:37 PM EST) — An Eleventh Circuit panel during oral arguments Friday
grilled Oscar Insurance, the U.S. Department of Justice and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida over the latter’s rules barring agents from selling insurance policies offered by other companies and whether the exclusivity requirement was protected from federal antitrust law.
Oscar is looking to revive its suit against Florida Blue, which a lower court tossed last year after finding the exclusivity policy is exempt from antitrust scrutiny by the McCarran-Ferguson Act, a federal statute that generally shields the business of insurance from federal antitrust enforcement.
The DOJ waded into the case both at the district court level and again with the Eleventh Circuit to urge against overly broad application of the statute.