Sen. Olympia Snowe Sneaks some Good Stuff into the Baucus Healthcare Bill

It seems that since Snowe has insane power to kill any bill that comes along (assuming that the Dems don't destroy themselves and go to the reconciliation "nuclear option") I think her amendment might sneak into the bill that Obama eventually signs. It is quite a good amendment indeed:

Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine), the moderate Republican in the group, proposed one major change, allowing insurers to offer national plans and to participate in state-based insurance exchanges. The Baucus proposal would permit states to form "health-care-choice compacts," allowing for the purchase of non-group health insurance across state lines.

Although this would really favor massive insurers like UnitedHealth (which I am long for the sake of full disclosure) this alone might make health insurance affordable. The idea of picking and choosing exactly what you want to have in your health insurance and shopping around for the best plan in the country would be awesome.

I look forward to the day where I can open the Wall Street Journal and read an article on the 5 best health insurance plans for 30 somethings and then compare it to HMSA. If I like the plan better I can just cancel my HMSA and sign up online for UnitedHealth Single Guy Plus with Vision Rider (or whatever it will be called.) I would then thank Senator Snowe for actual competition to come into the marketplace.