Actually insurance companies do trade across state lines. They just offer different products and pricing in different states based on what the regulators in a specific state allow. Health insurance offerings and pricing is regulated at the state level under the current system, not by the federal government.
Allowing companies to compete on price across state lines would require the federal government to take away health insurance regulation from the states and assume responsibility for it at the national level. If one truly believes in the strict interpretation of the word of the Constitution, intervention with state regulation of health insurance is not permitted by the federal government.
The current system does not work for everyone and I agree Obamacare is an abomination. My point is the Republicans need to articulate a plan other than “no Obamacare” to have credibility. If the Republican plan is “no change” then Obamacare is a better deal for those of us with pre-existing conditions in that some insurance is better than no insurance. From the perspective of personal finances for many with extremely high medical expenses it is a choice between bankruptcy, death, or supporting federal control of health care. I suspect most people faced with those choices will choose federal health care.
No, insurance companies do NOT trade across state lines, except in very rare cases. It should be legal for them to compete in all states. Period. There is nothing wrong with our health care system except that the government is already too involved in it. It doesn’t need fixing, it needs to be left alone.