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Politics : View from the Center and Left

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To: Cogito who wrote (129315)	1/26/2010 2:49:44 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) of 541741

So having a few large companies covering everybody in the country would result in greater competition? How many companies would choose to enter that market is unknown. But even if it's just a few, that would mean that people would have a few more options than they have now. Some states have only a couple of companies operating now. So add a few to a couple and you have competition and choice. The initiative to "buy across state lines isn't instead of state-by-state insurance, it's in addition. And there's still the issue of differing regulations within each state. Unless the federal government is going to invalidate all of that and just regulate things at the national level. Presumably this scenario would prompt some states to redo their regulations. Remember that the intent is to give options in those states that now allow only Cadillac plans to give relief to those who can't afford the pricey products. That restriction is what the initiative would invalidate. States would have to either allow lower-cost options, in which case their residents might not need the national offerings, or hold fast and let their residents go elsewhere. As for other differing regulations from state to state, think of your car insurance. I have a standard national policy that has a couple of items on a separate sheet of paper that are required by my state. The basic policy is national (or regional or for a select group of named states) with a few geegaws to suit those areas where my state is insistent on doing its own thing. I would expect health insurance to follow the same pattern. This arrangement appeals to the systems analyst. It's very efficient yet allows for state variations. Prior to implementation it would take a while for the insurance industry or individual companies to synthesize the various state regulations into generic policies with variations but that's a one-time exercise. That seems doubtful. You're predisposed to be suspicious so you're filling in your blanks with worst case assumptions but if you give it a chance, check it out, and think it through, it may turn out not be your cup of tea but it's not weird or untoward, just alien to you.

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