Arizona to Allow Greater Health Insurance Options - From Out of State

Lawmakers in Arizona are currently moving a bill through congress that would allow AZ residents to purchase health insurance from insurance companies outside the state. This would be a HUGE step and a potential game-changer in the medical world.

Republicans have been pushing this idea for a long time but have been unable to make any progress on the issue. Even residents in MA, a very blue state, have expressed a desire to be able to purchase health insurance from out of state.

I am totally supportive of such a plan because it provides consumers with more options and more competition, which should drive down prices. Right now, it is actually legal in most states for an insurance company to have a monopoly on the state.

AZ is coming out with bold new initiatives about tough problems, and though I may not agree with all the policy decisions they make, I am glad that one state is willing to take major steps to try and solve difficult problems. There must be something good going on in AZ!

Update: Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday vetoed a proposal that would have allow health insurance companies licensed in other states to issue policies in Arizona, saying it could have put Arizonans at risk.


(If you ask me, I think the insurance lobby got to Gov. Brewer. Of course she tries to justify her veto with a bunch of legal technicalities, but that seems unlikely to me.)


Wyoming in 2010 became the first state with a cross-border health insurance law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.