The more choices, the more competition, the cheaper the costs.
A proposal to allow health insurers from other states to sell their plans in Idaho won enough support to advance to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite concerns from lawmakers the bill will likely not deliver on its promises.
“I don’t see land mines in this, I don’t think, but this language makes me wonder does it really have any utility,” said Sen. Grant Burgoyne, a Democrat from Boise, before voting favor of the measure. “And if it doesn’t, I kind of wonder what we’re doing here.”
Despite the concerns the Senate Commerce and Human Resources Committee unanimously agreed to advance the bill to the full Senate. It still must pass there and in the House and be signed by the governor to become law.
Sen. Dan Foreman, a Republican from Moscow, says his bill will provide Idahoans with more options and drive down costs.
“This should introduce increased competition,” Foreman said. “The intended results are lower health insurance premiums.”
Selling insurance across state lines is a longtime GOP idea now embraced by President Donald Trump as a way to encourage competition by introducing low-premium plans into high-cost areas. Consumer advocates and state regulators counter that it will set off a “race to the bottom” as out-of-state insurers flood the market with plans that circumvent state requirements.