Why we need a public option
From the Boston Globe:
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. . . More competition among health insurers is a consummation to be devoutly wished. But there are better ways to get there than a public option. Here are three:
Tear down the barriers to buying insurance across state lines. Under federal law, states are permitted to regulate “the business of insurance’’ as they see fit, and most have seen fit to allow the sale only of insurance policies licensed by their own insurance commissions. . . Imagine being told that you could buy a car only if it was manufactured in your state. Consumers in the market for a mortgage are free to do business with an out-of-state lender; those in the market for health insurance should be equally free to do business with an out-of-state insurer. . . . Repeal mandatory benefits that make health insurance needlessly expensive. Compounding the lack of interstate competition is the way states drive up the cost of health insurance by making certain types of coverage compulsory. [AO: There are many products and services regulated by states. States are tasked with regulating these products and services because they are primarily responsible for ensuring the health and safety of their citizens. An example is professional licensure such as obtaining a license to practice medicine. Consumers seeking a new doctor are free to do business with an out-of-state doctor, but only if the services are obtained out-of-state. The same goes for health insurance. By licensing doctors, the state takes upon itself the task of ensuring that each doctor allowed to practice in the state has met the minimum requirements for practicing in that state. This is similar for health insurance and there are good reasons for this. States face different challenges that, from time to time, require state-specific solutions. Moreover, people in different state attribute value differently. Finally, if citizens of a state really see the need for changes to their minimum health insurance requirements, these citizens can effect those changes without the need to eliminate all forms of consumer protection as would result if health insurers were allowed to sell insurance coverage across state lines and mandatory benefits were repealed.] De-link health insurance from employment. Nothing distorts America’s health insurance market like the misbegotten tax preference for employer-sponsored health insurance. [AO: This is probably a good ides but is not necessarily an argument against a public option.] |
Read the full opinion HERE.
