Buying Health Insurance Across State Lines

[Project Grudge]

I've heard this Republican idea ad nauseum. Most plans are overseen by State Insurance Commissioners. Thus, if you have a plan from North Dakota, but live in California then there's no way your Insurance Commissioner could oversee it. If the Republicans got their way it would be impossible for states to regulate the plans, which means that the federal government would have to do it. So if I'm reading this correctly then they want to create a new federal bureaucracy (to use their language.)

Just one more hypocritical Republican talking point. But, another more likely idea, is that they want to make it impossible for these companies to be regulated. They don't want the state to do it and they'd block any federal regulator. Their idea has to be called out for what it is.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Hartmann has a great answer to this. Go to the state with the weakest regulations.

Which is why all credit card companies operate out of South Dakota - they can charge what they want, etc - no regulations.

Same thing would happen with health insurance - find a state with hardly any regulations, and you would end up with another nightmare.

I love Hartmann's brain!!!!

[mmonk]

7. Yes, that is essentially what the Republicans want.

Always deregulation all the time. They can always blame liberals when it fails (and do).

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. As if insurance was significantly better in some other state

wouldn't it be well known by now? The truth is, it's shitty everyplace, Aetna & so on are national corporations operating all over the country.

[D-Lee]

8. Many states require specified coverage -- mental health, for example

You would need to look at each state's laws, as well as each state's regulatory system for insurance.

Note the deafening silence by news media whenever Repugs beat the drum for "selling insurance across state lines" ...

And this same approach about credit cards being freed from state regulation is what lead to credit card issuers moving their operations into states which have no usury protection and no limit on interest (the last straw in that fight is when the Supreme Court held that FDIC banks were sufficiently "national banks" that they were free of state regulation).

Yuk!

[Project Grudge]

9. I'm curious

Is D-Lee in reference to Derek Lee of the Chicago Cubs? He's my favorite ballplayer so I have to ask.

[Dr.Phool]

3. If you get any kind of policy out of Florida....

Make sure you get a rape supplement, because you're gonna get fucked-big time!

[chill_wind]

4. I'll go with your latter supposition. Here's some interesting skullduggery

that I found almost 2 years ago at CorpWatch. It involves Paulson and the uber-conservative think tanks on the subject of federal charters.

Paulson Blueprint Promotes Insurance Industry Shell Game

Philip Mattera on April 5th, 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4058688&mesg_id=4065550

And while it doesn't talk singularly about the health sector, we can surmise. These rats are nothing if not extremely patient with their blueprints for "reform".

[Project Grudge]

5. Thank You For That Interesting Link

The link seems to prove that if Republicans get what they want then as a previous poster said all companies would move to North Dakota (or whatever state would cease oversight.)

However, I think Dems in the media need to point out the lack of regulation if Republicans got their way. It should be all over the airwaves. We need to frame the debate and show why Republican ideas shouldn't be taken seriously.

[chill_wind]

6. You're welcome. It's very troubling :-(

[Toots]

10. It shows that Republicans have a deep seated scorn for State's Rights

They want a race to the bottom, and not allow individual states to make and enforce their own laws. Go to the state with the weakest regulations and force their own state to accept the results. Another blatant form of hypocrisy IMO.