Health Insurance, Washington's Way

At the beginning of last month, administration officials indicated that they could take over the health insurance rate review process in as many as 10 states. ObamaCare gives the federal government authority to muscle in to state health insurance regulation if administration health regulators decide that a state isn't doing enough on its own. Now it looks like even more states may see increased federal oversight of another part of the health insurance business. The Hill reports today that "the federal government may end up administering rules for appealing insurance companies' coverage denials in at least 17 states." As the Galen Institute's Grace-Marie Turner told me last summer, the federal government may talk up state-driven health policy flexibility, but when it comes to ObamaCare, it's Washington's way or the highway.