I agree with Donald Taylor's skepticism regarding interstate health insurance sales (Other Opinion, Nov. 6). However, my main concern lies in an issue he only briefly mentioned: federal intervention in the individual states' ability to regulate insurance.
On two occasions, I asked state insurance regulators to intercede when an insurance company failed to live up to its obligations. In both cases, state regulators responded promptly, forcing the insurers to play fair. Without state regulators on my side, I would have had no recourse. The thought that federal law might somehow curtail the regulatory powers of individual states fills me with deep misgivings.
It is relevant to remember recent history in banking regulation. In 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that Michigan could not regulate a Wachovia subsidiary making high-interest loans to low-income homebuyers. The court held that only the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency had oversight over the Wachovia operation. At the time, state regulators sounded an alarm that the ruling could have dire consequences if individual states were not allowed to enforce sensible lending practices. The irony of this warning, approximately a year before the mortgage industry collapse, is difficult to ignore.
