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Originally posted by: pjstroh
And nothing stops states from buying insurance across state lines now - thats a myth of Obamacare critics. And there is no law that stops Cigna from selling their plans in any state they want to. Thats a myth too.
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The Republican presidential front-runners, along with their trailing competitors, are all big fans of allowing Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, arguing that doing so would boost competition, resulting in lower costs and greater choice for consumers. Often, conservatives have framed such a plan as part of a replacement package for Obamacare.
The thing is, such permission is already part of President Barack Obama's health care law.
The little-known provision, found in section 1333 of the roughly 1,000-page Affordable Care Act, allows for states to create "health care choice compacts" permitting insurers to sell policies to consumers in any state participating in the compact, as long as they follow specific rules. Five states – Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Rhode Island and Wyoming – already have enacted interstate compact statutes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
So why haven't consumers taken advantage of the provision? Probably, at least in part, because the administration hasn't fully implemented it – a lapse that could provide additional ammunition for Republicans seeking to dismantle Obamacare.
Under the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services was directed to consult with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on regulations for the compacts and issue them by July 2013. The regulations would clarify how such plans would work, given that health insurance plans usually offer coverage in specific areas. Consumers were supposed to be able to buy insurance in states other than the one in which they live – should they reside in a state that had joined a compact – starting Jan. 1 of this year.
However, the NAIC says HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell has not even reached out to the group for consultation. "Under the law they were supposed to come up with regulations and they haven't yet," an NAIC spokesman says.
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services did not provide comment despite multiple requests.
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[boldface added - DD]
Ref: usnews.com
It seems inaction by The Obama has something to do with the fact that most Americans are not permitted to buy insurance across a State line.
Maybe passing a Law which no one had read was a bad idea. Maybe implementing such a Law was just too hard.
