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House Panel Approves Purchase Of Health Insurance Across State Lines

A map showing which states have multi-state plan agreements in place.
House Staff Analysis
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Florida House of Representatives

A Florida House panel has approved a measure that would let consumers purchase health insurance across state lines. But not everyone is on board with the idea.

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State insurance regulators and health insurers worry the plans won’t be equal to what’s offered in Florida. But House Insurance and Banking chairman John Wood disagrees.

“If somebody in Alabama can get a health insurance policy for less money than what we can get in Florida, why do I keep my citizens in Pensacola from buying that policy?” He said.

According to an analysis of the bill, the Affordable Care Act does allow consumers to purchase out-of-state plans if their state has agreements with others. And many insurers offer what they call multi-state plans as well.

But in order to participate, states have to pass a law, and those agreements have to be approved by the federal government. Florida is one of 14 states without a multi-state plan agreement in place.

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University and Florida State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master's in Professional Communication. Lynn has been with WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She has worked with several organizations, including Kaiser Health News.  Lynn has also partnered with USC-Annenberg's Center for Child Wellbeing on the nationally acclaimed series "Committed," which explored the prevalence of involuntary commitment use on children.
She serves on the board of RTDNA and the United Way of the Big Bend, with previous service on the board of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida.

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