Negotiations to reconcile House and Senate-passed healthcare reform bills are centering on several major issues. One is whether the states or the federal government will operate the health insurance exchanges both bills envision.

According to the House, having the federal government set a uniform protocol would protect consumers, but the Senate says states have the experience overseeing insurance plans and are more familiar with what the consumers in their states need.

PIA supports keeping insurance exchanges state-based.

“If health insurance exchanges are created, they should be state-based,” said PIA National Secretary/Assistant Treasurer Thomas C. Adderhold, Vice Chairman of the PIA Services Group Insurance Fund. “State insurance regulators have an excellent track record in protecting consumers, whereas federal regulation has proven to be weak and ineffective. In fact, the financial meltdown can be attributed in large part to the failure of the federal regulatory apparatus for banks and securities firms. That’s one reason why the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents is adamantly opposed to any proposals to transfer insurance regulation from the states to the federal government, for any line of insurance.”

“Our state insurance regulators have extensive experience in regulating health insurance, are closer to consumers and have the ability to respond based on the unique needs of each state,” Adderhold said. “Federal bureaucracies are often restrictive bodies that don’t have the flexibility that the insurance market needs. Our advice to Congress is: stay with what works, make the health insurance exchanges state-based.”

January 20, 2010