Opening Up Health Insurance Markets
December 31st, 2007 by Peter SudermanWhat’s the single easiest thing we could do to fix health insurance? Allow individuals to purchase insurance across state lines, thus creating a national market and quickly, efficiently deregulating the options for every person in every state. Right now, Rep. John Shadegg has a bill that would do just that.
The CEI blog quotes a WSJ piece at length to explain.
The Health Care Choice Act would allow residents in one state to buy health insurance that is available in and regulated by another state. If enacted, the law would create a competitive, 50-state market for health insurance, likely making it cheaper. It would do this without imposing a large cost on taxpayers and without creating a new government bureaucracy.
Whole thing here (and well worth reading).
December 31st, 2007 at 5:52 pm
It’s a good idea, but it’s hardly going to “fix” health insurance problems. These are only the “individual” plans that this bill affects, which represents a very small segment of the health insurance customer base. It would do nothing for small group plans or large companies. It won’t address the very real problem of corporate expenditures on health care, which are hurting bottom lines across the U.S.
So it’s not true what you wrote above, that it’s “efficiently deregulating the options for every person in every state.” Keep in mind that this also allows the federal government to tell states how they can and can’t regulate their own health care markets, something I’m opposed to as a state’s rights guy.
All across the country, everyone’s asking “Why does a parasitic middle man have to make a profit before I have access to health care?” If we really wanted to reform health care using a market model, which I think can be done, all we really need to do is make all health insurance companies operate as non-profits. That way the market can regulate itself without the threat of abuse from the insurance industry. Right now, they operate on a for-profit model, which means providing the least amount of care for the most amount of money. Great for insurance industry executives and stockholders, but not so good for America.
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
The major cause for the explosion in health care expenses is being ignored by you open-borders neocon shills.
Mexican invaders are using our hospitals for “free” and we are having to pay for the illegal alien scum.
Over 30 hospitals have closed in California this year because of the Mexican invader’s welfare mentality.
“Cheap labor” isn’t cheap. It is criminal activity supported by open-borders traitors like Dick Armey.
January 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 am
m6e2MJ hi nice site thx http://peace.com
January 7th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
We (and everone else in the modern, Western world) have tried the private, market-based system for health care. It obviously doesn’t work, and it needs to be replaced with a system that does *not* inherently reward companies for denying people the health care that they need. Our way of paying for health care in this country is killing businesses (especially small ones)…I would think that you “conservatives” would be empathetic towards the pain of your business-sector buddies…
I won’t even bother to respond the other xenophobic nonesense from above.
January 21st, 2008 at 10:20 am
xCkZBF hi great site thx http://peace.com
February 20th, 2008 at 8:04 am
[...] of the health care system, Sullivan advocates opening up health insurance markets, linking to this excellent post by Peter [...]
February 20th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
MpEHUc hi good site thx http://peace.com
February 20th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
J1SDMn hi nice site thx http://peace.com
March 6th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
see this thanks
March 19th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
bookmark you thx
March 19th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
nice work man 10x
March 19th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
see this thanks
April 29th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
should be free is all i can say
August 17th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
A…
A…