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Sounds Like A Good Idea? Selling Insurance Across State Lines

By Julie Rovner and Francis Ying

Presidential candidates like to propose solutions to long-standing problems. Health care is no exception.

This KHN story can be republished for free (details).

But there’s a reason some problems are “long-standing.” They may have no easy solution. Or the solution is not politically feasible. Or there’s a solution that sounds good on the campaign trail but is not likely to actually work.

This is part of a series of videos about health policy promises that “sound like a good idea.” Here Julie Rovner and Francis Ying explore why increasing competition in health insurance by allowing sales of policies across state lines might not be such a good idea after all.

The other “Sounds Like A Good Idea” videos examined regulating drug prices and and proposals to establish a new federal high-risk insurance pool if lawmakers change the health law’s guarantee of insurance for people with pre-existing conditions.

For more information on the interstate health insurance, see earlier KHN coverage: FAQ: Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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