One of the biggest problems with our current health care system is the fact that insurance companies can't sell coverage across state lines. This results in monopolies that cause undue inflationary pressures on the cost of health insurance for consumers.

One obvious -- and widely-proposed -- solution to this problem would be to allow insurance providers to offer their coverage across state lines, thus increasing competition between insurance companies.

In an interview aired Wednesday, NPR's Julie Rovner reported on House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's (D-MD) response to this proposal, which is advocated by the Republicans.

From the NPR transcript, with Rep. Hoyer's response: (emphasis added)

ROVNER: And House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer used part of his weekly sit down with reporters to explain why Democrats have long opposed the idea of letting insurance be sold across state lines.

Representative STENY HOYER (Democrat, Maryland; House Majority Leader): We believe that would very possibly gut consumer protections and encourage a race to the bottom, where insurance companies would go to the states that required the least amount of protection and therefore the cheapest policies; and that everybody could go and purchase what they think is a cheap policy, but which in time of health care crisis, does not protect them adequately.

In other words, allowing for additional private-sector competition for health-care consumers would be bad for those consumers because they are too stupid to decide for themselves which coverage would be best for them and their their families.

Yet Democrats continue to hew to the rhetorical line that a government-provided 'public option' would be good for the insurance market because 'it would provide needed competition.'

It appears that the only competition the Democrats approve of is that which only they will provide. Why should the health-care market be different from that of every other good and/or service? This kind of paternalism is insulting to the intelligence of voters and is nothing more than nonsense on stilts.

Hoyer and the Dems should be called on this blatant political manipulation.