The Senate healthcare bill could enable insurers to avoid some of the strongest consumer protections and benefit requirements adopted by state governments, Democratic lawmakers from Maine and California said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-NV). The bill would allow insurers to sell policies across state lines, subject to the laws and regulations in a state of the insurers' choosing, 31 Democratic House members said. "Practically speaking, insurers will domicile their plans in states with less stringent regulations and market to the population in more protective states like ours, just like nationally chartered banks have done," the House members wrote on behalf of lawmakers from the two states.
