Even most of the law's most avid advocates admit that it is flawed. The flaws are not that it goes too far, but that it doesn't go far enough. The Republicans and their enablers deserve most of the blame, for that; but we have to keep working to move health care reform forward. The first steps, for now, should be the best steps to plug the loopholes in the new law. The quickest and most obvious of those steps is to repeal the insurance industry antitrust exemption. It's good policy and it's good politics.

President Obama wants to repeal the antitrust exemption. By an overwhelming 406-19 margin, the House already voted to repeal the antitrust exemption. All that's left is for the Senate to vote for the repeal, and it will be done. This shouldn't be difficult.

That huge House margin speaks for itself. The politics of the repeal is obvious. Even Republicans know that they can't justify an antitrust exemption for a despised rapacious industry. They also know that they can't continue to get away with even pretending to believe in market-based solutions, if they're allowing those markets to be controlled and manipulated by a narrow few. Bring the repeal to the Senate floor, and it will pass. Bring the repeal to the Senate floor.

On policy grounds, the repeal will greatly enhance the new health insurance law. The exchanges cannot now guarantee anything close to adequate choice, when the insurers are legally allowed to collude to deny adequate choice. Repealing the exemption will force insurers actually to compete with each other, and the market then may force some insurers into competing for customers, by providing superior plans. If a market-based system can work, that's the only possible way for it to work. Force the insurers to compete with each other. Give the public legitimate choices.

This one shouldn't be difficult. It's excellent framing, in that it will show that Democrats will continue to work to improve the health care system. It's excellent politics, in that Republicans dare not oppose it. It's excellent policy, in that it plugs a very real loophole in the new law. And it's but one Senate vote from getting done. Call your Senators. Call Senators Reid and Durbin. Repeal the antitrust exemption. Now.

Majority Leader Harry Reid: 202-224-3542

Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin: 202-224-2152