What will happen if insurance companies are allowed to sell health insurance across state lines?

Jimbo: What will happen if insurance companies are allowed to sell health insurance across state lines?
My friend said that all the insurance companies would just move to South Dakota, because that is the state with the weakest consumer protection laws, and then they could sell insurance nationwide and ignore the laws of the other 49 states.

How true is that?

Answers and Views:

Answer by UNITED PLANKTON
obamas much talked about,but never done,…choice and competition….

people speak honestly with their money…if given a choice they will ALWAYS make the best decision

Answer by spot the cat
idk, but it’s looking like both parties want that

Answer by gws35
To some extent it could be an issue, if a consumer ever has to go to the state attorney general with a complaint against the company.

Answer by Philip McCrevice
There would be some insurance companies who would see that many Americans would buy their insurance because it was better and cheaper, and it wouldn’t matter what state they were in.

The main problem with health care costs is that there is no way to compare prices. I scratched my eye snow blowing this weekend and went in to see a doctor. She prescribed an antibacterial drop.

$ 70 for a little bottle half the size of a Visine bottle! $ 70!

My insurance paid $ 55 and I paid my $ 15 copay.

Insurance companies are not the problem. They help people like me. The problem is that I can’t compare prices for this stuff and CHOOSE THE CHEAPEST ONE.

How many people can compare how much an appendectomy would cost in total at hospital A or B or C and pick the cheaper one? WHy aren’t prices mandated to be posted online for every drug and procedure at every doctor office, and I can choose which one I want?

Answer by The Patriot
Not much. They will still continue to use death panels to deny care to those they are meant to cover.

Why does no other developed nation have the US model of healthcare? Because in the US model, insurance companies use death panels to deny care to those they are meant to cover. And then they raise costs [1]. Not only does the USA spend more on healthcare than any other nation [2], it finds itself bottom of the table when it comes to preventable deaths due to treatable conditions when it comes to developed nations [3]. The sad thing is that rather than focus on these things, the right spreads lies and half truths about the reforms and how healthcare works abroad [4]. But, if you think that my points are wrong, e-mail me with proof.

Answer by Flower
I agree with you. Also, If I live in Calfornia where insurance and medical costs are higher, and I buy a policy in Georgia, would the Georgia company reimburse me at the California higher costs or the lower Georgia costs? And If everyone in California could buy a Georgia policy, the Georgia rates would eventually be increased to make up for lost profits of cheaper premiums.The problem with the health insurance monopoly in states is the exemption to anti-trust laws for health insurance companies, so I dont see how there could be competition unless the exemption is removed and Republicans wont do it.

Answer by fangtaiyang
Insurance companies already sell across state lines. The same companies sell insurance in each state, but limit membership and coverage to the state you live in. It is the same for most insurance. If you move to another state, you must purchase your insurance coverage in that new state. This is simply a business matter. Each state has its own costs and hazards.