Max Baucus: “This is a motion to commit to the Finance Committee obviously designed to kill the bill. Clearly, there is inadequate…”

“This is a motion to commit to the Finance Committee obviously designed to kill the bill. Clearly, there is inadequate competition among insurance companies in most of our States. In fact, in most States I think there are maybe just two major companies. We want to encourage much more competition. Allowing them to sell across State lines is in concept a good idea, but it must be done responsibly. The underlying bill--the bill that passed, actually--does allow for interstate compacts. States can compact to sell across State lines. Once the exchange is open in 2014, insurance companies will automatically be able to sell across State lines. But to allow sales now would be irresponsible because it would encourage a race to the bottom. By that, I mean that irresponsible companies will be inclined to go to States with the lowest standards and then sell health insurance to other parts of the country, so people in other States will have virtually no remedies. It makes sense to have health care reform provisions in place, and then we can sell across State lines with compacts through the exchanges.”