Many state governments effectively prohibit people from buying cheap, basic health insurance by imposing all kinds of mandates.(The Week ...)(Brief Article)

Many state governments effectively prohibit people from buying cheap, basic health insurance by imposing all kinds of mandates. They demand that insurance policies cover the cost of hair transplants, or treatment for alcoholism, or chiropractic services. While the health plans of large companies are regulated by the federal government and thus exempt from the state mandates, small businesses and individuals seeking to buy insurance need relief. But what kind of relief? If the federal government nullified the state mandates, then all the interest groups that successfully lobbied state governments to require that insurers cover their services would simply turn their attention to Washington. Rep. John Shadegg, an Arizona Republican, has ...