Should Health Insurance Companies Be Allowed To Sell Individual Policies Across State Lines?
With health care legislation stalled, Republicans are touting their own remedies, including allowing Americans to buy health coverage across state lines. Currently, consumers can buy policies only from insurers licensed by the states in which they live. The Republican idea has actually been incorporated into the Democrats’ House and Senate health bills, though in a somewhat different form. And it’s expected to be included in any legislation that wins final passage. Congressional Republicans have proposed the concept in the past and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., embraced it as part of his 2008 presidential campaign. Advocates – including some insurers and small business groups – say it would give the more than 17 million Americans who buy individual coverage a greater choice of plans and the possibility of lower prices. (The measure does not apply to the 159 million non-elderly Americans who obtain insurance through their employers.) But critics — including consumer watchdog groups and th
