Hi Rand,

It was my understanding that the State only allowed two companies to provide independent insurance back when I dropped mine: Blue Cross and Oxford. Mysteriously, their premiums were within $5 of each other. There are about half a dozen now and there are hundreds of dollars difference in premiums. Of course, none are remotely affordable, though the premiums have dropped a bit over the past six months (along with what they buy, no doubt). These are all recent developments... I wonder what inspired them... hmmm....

Off the top of my head, I know there is Aetna, Oxford, GHI, HIP, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield ... And they've been there at least 9 years ... The benefits for just about all of them, other than HIP, would be considered very good benefits even if offered by an employer ... Why are they nearly the same price, you might ask ... You'd have to talk to the New York state insurance department ... They are the ones who approve ALL rates.

And NY insurers most definitely do block coverage for many individuals. I have two immediate friends who can't get health insurance.

Correct ... If they went without insurance for a while they'd get stuck with a waiting periods and/or exclusions ... Which makes perfect sense ... You can't get fire insurance to start yesterday to cover the house that just burned to the ground ...

Still, following your logic; are you saying that the problem with New York's insurance regulations is that too many New Yorkers are getting coverage? No ... I thought it would be rather obvious ... The regulations cause sky-rocketing premiums ... Remove the regulations ... More insurers will flock to the state and prices will drop considerably.

That if the insurance industry here were allowed to discriminate based on a broad range of criteria, choosing only the most profitable customers, that my premiums would be more affordable? Did you miss where I defined discriminate? Discriminate with regards to premium = rates dependent upon age/gender/health status/location ...

That this would bring New York back down to a 1 or a 2 like the rest of the country where presumably the insurance industry already has carte blanch when it comes to vetting its customers? 1 or 2 insurers in a state???? The only state like that is Hawaii ... Montana is the next closest, but I can still think of at least three individual insurance carriers in the state ... Massachusettes might be the next closest, though I have no idea how their system actually works ... All I know is I get tons of calls from residents trying to get insurance off the state plan.

What's supposed to happen to everybody else? How old are you Rand? How old am I? Ahh ... The classic 'You are too young and naive to understand things' argument ... Let's try another approach ... How long have you studied the insurance industry?? My guess is that I am far more aware of nuances within the industry and have a lot more experience ... Granted, I may have only been here 9 years, parents here 35 years ... I may have only worked with more individuals on a yearly basis than most agents work with in their lifetime ... But I am the young and stu.pid kid ... Hahhahaha ... I love it!

Are you old enough to realize that all kinds of things are going to be going wrong with you real soon? Nah ... Not old enough at all ... Still working on getting rid of my baby teeth ...

Why don't we all have the right to decent health care in this country, that doesn't cost more than our homes?! For most, it doesn't cost more than their homes ...

Why can the other developed nations afford to care for their citizens but we, supposedly the wealthiest country of all cannot? Because they get taxed up the wazoo for it ...