I was on a virtual town hall call with Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) the other day about the health care issue the other day, and he said (I think) that one of the provisions of the bill (or at least one version) would create a website to allow multiple insurers to offer quotes and compete against each other as well as a public option. He compared this to the various rate quoting schemes from Progressive, GEICO, etc. for auto liability insurance. I want to know why auto insurers chose to do this and why health insurers have not. Is it because health insurers main purchasers are business H.R. reps as opposed to consumers?
Partly. Partly it is because plans for individual employers are tailored to meet the need of the employer, making cross-company comparison difficult.
It seems like an individual policy (i.e., not group) would require a complete medical history in order to get a quote. Not sure if it is practical to do that online. If health care reform goes through and you can’t be denied coverage, then it would make sense. It would be really nice if you could enter your current prescriptions to see how much they cover.