Respond to Margaret

Nancy Pelosi’s Perfect Answer to a Perfectly Ridiculous Question quotes the following response from Morrisey about Pelosi’s interview, “One would presume that Pelosi or her office could provide an easily-corroborated answer to the question”. The question Morrissey is referring to is a question from a reporter who asked, “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?” (Kattenburg 2009). Morissey continues his response and says, “The interstate commerce clause doesn’t apply because Congress doesn’t allow for interstate commerce in health insurance”. I cannot explain why Morrissey thought this was relevant, however, after I have read the assigned work this week my viewpoint is that Morissey’s statement related to interstate commerce is incorrect. 
“Since 2008, 21 states have introduced legislation to authorize the sale of health insurance across state lines” (Jenson and Riley 2017). Under Section 1333 of the ACA, States may enter Health Care Choice Compacts. The ACA provides the framework for plans to be offered in one state and governed by the laws and regulations of another state. “Prior to the ACA and its establishment of minimum requirements, variation in state rules led to differences in health insurance products” (Jenson and Riley 2017). If changes are made to current mandates, existing Multi-State Plan Programs (MSPs) may need restructuring. Many people could lose healthcare coverage as a result. Creating plans for multi-State health insurance exchanges is “a provision of the Affordable Care Act that has not been the subject of much debate as yet” (Moffit and Meredith 2015). The National Academy for State Health Policy “invites states to join this discussion to provide more analysis” (Jenson and Riley 2017).
 
 
WORKS CITED:
1. Furrow, Barry R. , et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. Abridged 8th Edition. St. Paul: West Academic Publishing, 2018.
2. Jenson, Jenn, and Trish Riley. “Selling Health Insurance Across State Lines: Lessons for States and Questions for Policymakers.” National Academy for State Health Policy. February 15, 2017. https://www.nashp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Insurance-Across-State-Lines.pdf (accessed October 31, 2021).
3. Kattenburg, Kathy. “Nancy Pelosi’s Perfect Answer to a Perfectly Ridiculous Question.” The Moderate Voice, 2009.
4. Moffit, Robert E., and Neil R. Meredith. “Multistate Health Plans: Agents for Competition or Consolidation.” INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing 52 (September 2015): 1.