November 10th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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As I have been predicting for a long time, state insurance regulators were unlikely to remain silent for long in the face of efforts to federalize major parts of state insurance regulation. They’re talking now, and they’re mad.
Last week, Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Sullivan testified in Congress on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. He said that federal regulation must not displace the current system of state regulation. Calling the proposed legislation a “regime change,” he said it would result in “redundant, overlapping responsibilities will result in policyholder confusion, market uncertainty, regulatory arbitrage and a host of other unintended consequences.” Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
October 6th, 2009 by EvanFalchukJD in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion
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For months, Congress has been debating health care reform proposals that would have the effect of dealing a heavy blow to the system of state-by-state insurance regulation. State governments have stood by, silently. I’ve been wondering (
here,
here and
here) when the states would start to raise objections.
Slowly, it’s starting to happen. What has been a mostly overlooked factor in the health care reform debate may end up being one of the most important.
In fourteen states, legislators are trying to pass constitutional amendments that would ban health insurance mandates. Meanwhile, a bi-partisan group of governors are objecting to provisions of the Baucus plan that would leave the cost of expanding Medicaid to the states (by contrast, the House bill provides federal money for this). It’s an emerging trend that may reflect growing unease in state governments. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at See First Blog*
