Back in March, Karen Tumulty of Time Magazine published a story about the problem her brother, Patrick, who resides in Texas, was having with health insurance. Titled, The Health-Care Crisis Hits Home Karen wrote that her brother had been purchasing short term health insurance for 6 years. In 2008 Patrick's insurer dropped his coverage based on results of a medical exam Patrick had taken during the previous 6 months, which disqualified him he was told because he now had a pre-existing medical condition.
I didn't know much about short term health insurance so I called my agent to inquire if I could buy a short term policy here in Ohio. I was told I could buy such a policy, but only twice. I could purchase insurance for a term of 2 days to 6 months, and I could do that one more time before the company would have to sell me a long term health insurance policy. So it seems that I am protected by Ohio laws in a way that Patrick Tumulty was denied because Texas doesn't have such regulation.
So this morning as I was watching my favorite show on C-Span, Washington Journal, I was dismayed to hear Max Pappas from FreedomWorks express the opinion that health care reform needed to enable us to buy our health insurance across state lines. I said to the TV, "NO WAY buster, we don't need less regulation in the insurance industry that is exactly why the banks are in such a mess. I hate to think what a bollix we would have if Congress tried to override state insurance laws. Health care reform would never get passed and maybe that is the point.
**** BTW FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey also serves as a senior policy advisor for DLA Piper - a Washington law firm that received over a million dollars from the pharmaceutical company Medicines Co. Open Secrets.org
