Mary Kay: Fair and Consistent Competition

This has been a great debate thus far.
I love you Fred!

O.K. So when Clinton got into office, Hillary tried to spearhead health insurance reform. Whoever was the one who said that it is on a state by state basis is correct. Back in the late 90's because of Hillary, Maryland adopted 2 is a group with no pre-existing condition clause. This is the only reason I've had health insurance that covered my pre-existing conditions. However, I first had choices of insurance companies. I went with John Alden Insurance Company because provider's took it, it was the least costly, and was comprehensive. John Alden was a member of the Alliance network. After 1 year John Alden pulled out of the state of Maryland. So I then went with the Alliance network itself. After 2 more years the entire Alliance network pulled out of the state of Maryland. Which left BCBS of MD, and 2 other very obscure companies which none of my providers would take, (HMO's). So I went with BCBS of MD cause "DUHHHH" Maryland. So like I thought, they wouldn't pull out of MD. Why would they? Can you say Monopoly? But, the problem is there is still no real, viable competition in Maryland. This is why Cal's premiums are so high. Also, the average age of employees makes it go up and down. This should not be because it makes it more expensive to keep one's experienced and trained employees.
It has been this way for approx. 14 years.

I am not for de-regulation. PERIOD! Even though I have many Federal regulations I must follow between USDOT Safety Regs, and EPA Regs. These affect me every day and I complain about them often. But lets be honest, Regulations are not put into place for the ethical, and the fair. Without standardized regulations there are no repercussions for those who are ignorant or negligent. State regulations give us a place to hide in ignorance. They also make it hard to be law abiding in other states. I could go on about reciprocity between states regarding traffic laws and the points system, but I won't, but suffice it to say that Maryland and Colorado are so far off it's a brain twang-er. For those of us living in Maryland be grateful.

I had a pseudo appointment at Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's office today. I expected to be given 5 minutes if I was lucky. Instead they spent 1-1/2 hours with me and asked me to come back to speak to Rep. Bartlett himself in a week.

I proposed today, that if health care regulations were federally enforced rather state by state this would simplify the system and bring down the cost. Fair and consistent competition.

I have hope.

Mary Kay