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I was listening to the town hall discussions yesterday, and Trump once again brought up how much money would be saved if health insurance was sold across state lines. Does anyone that works in the industry actually believe this?
Buying Across State Lines
- Thread starter unic.consulting
- Start date
- 10,313
Buying across state lines is the answer every republican candidate has. Last night proved that the republicans have nothing of substance to replace Obamacare with.
Darn it.....and here I thought an Idaho plan would solve my problem of overpriced Georgia plans.
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The main magic they seem to be promoting with the "across state lines" argument, as I have seen it explained, is to find the Delawares (states favorable tax wise to corporations) of insurance, that is, the states with the least mandated coverage regulations, so pared down "affordable" policies can once again be offered.
This is also like someone from, say Fremont, Nebraska being wowed by the huge salary in San Mateo California for the same job they are doing. Uh, what about taking local costs into account?
Given the whupping carriers are having, I would think they would be very skeptical of a band aid approach like selling across state lines. That could also result in a race to the bottom with who can sell policies with the least coverage, if set free to do so.
If agents could sell add on's like we do now, if Medicare for all were instituted, might not be so bad.
Other countries with government based care have extra coverage in the private market, or a choice of plans.
I am sorry, but I think that we have built big profits into the medical system, and backpedaling when the stakeholders are wealthy will be a long road. We may be the chest of drawers thrown off the covered wagon to lighten the load while trying to make it over the ridge on the Oregon Trail of health reform.
I have one more comment. At night, coming home from the capital city of our state, I see a billboard advertising the exact minutes of wait time in the ER of a local hospital. Last night it was 19 minutes. There's some economy for you, feel bad? Now you don't have to wait until morning, just come on down!
This is also like someone from, say Fremont, Nebraska being wowed by the huge salary in San Mateo California for the same job they are doing. Uh, what about taking local costs into account?
Given the whupping carriers are having, I would think they would be very skeptical of a band aid approach like selling across state lines. That could also result in a race to the bottom with who can sell policies with the least coverage, if set free to do so.
If agents could sell add on's like we do now, if Medicare for all were instituted, might not be so bad.
Other countries with government based care have extra coverage in the private market, or a choice of plans.
I am sorry, but I think that we have built big profits into the medical system, and backpedaling when the stakeholders are wealthy will be a long road. We may be the chest of drawers thrown off the covered wagon to lighten the load while trying to make it over the ridge on the Oregon Trail of health reform.
I have one more comment. At night, coming home from the capital city of our state, I see a billboard advertising the exact minutes of wait time in the ER of a local hospital. Last night it was 19 minutes. There's some economy for you, feel bad? Now you don't have to wait until morning, just come on down!
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medical providers are reluctant to accept a lot of plans that are based in the state.
Almost every plan sold in my state is useless once you cross state lines. No providers, no network, nada.
Not to mention, if anyone in any state can buy any plan, the price advantage would erode instantly. Everyone in a high-cost state would be incentivized to buy in a low cost state, raising the premium to the same level. Effectively, we'd just average the national cost.
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What seems to be lost on the buy across state lines crowd is until the insured moves to an area with a lower cost of care, it's not going to matter.
If 80% of rates are driven by claims, cost of care in a service area (zip codes) matter because if they get the 80% wrong, it comes out of the 20% left.
In my state we have 5 rate zones for health insurance now. Different pricing in each based on the cost of care within those zones. I have actually had rates stay stable or go down as my most expensive county was paired with 4 counties that are much lower cost of care wise. So the bulk of my customers have had rates look really good.
State lines don't matter, no insurance carrier with any sense is going to underprice their product for an area they sell in.
If 80% of rates are driven by claims, cost of care in a service area (zip codes) matter because if they get the 80% wrong, it comes out of the 20% left.
In my state we have 5 rate zones for health insurance now. Different pricing in each based on the cost of care within those zones. I have actually had rates stay stable or go down as my most expensive county was paired with 4 counties that are much lower cost of care wise. So the bulk of my customers have had rates look really good.
State lines don't matter, no insurance carrier with any sense is going to underprice their product for an area they sell in.
I hear this all the time. My standard response is (remember, I'm in North Dallas, surrounded by people in the Tea Party, who really do want Texas to secede)
"That's a great idea! Some state like Delaware will win, just like they did with the credit cards. All the companies will write from there and use Delaware laws. Which is perfect, because I have always wanted the Department of Insurance in DELAWARE to tell TEXANS what to do"
Crickets.
"That's a great idea! Some state like Delaware will win, just like they did with the credit cards. All the companies will write from there and use Delaware laws. Which is perfect, because I have always wanted the Department of Insurance in DELAWARE to tell TEXANS what to do"
Crickets.
I would like the same MA/MS comp they have in Ca. Aside from that, I think the "sell across State Lines" proposal is about as well thought out as Obamacare.
They sound like idiots every time they open their mouths, and talk about it like it's a simple and wonderful solution.
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