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Comment by BoxFour | Hacker News Reader

As pointed out in the article, states frequently maintain a taxpayer-backed insurers of last resort (and apparently notably prevalent in Florida).

Nevertheless, as the article also highlights, this approach is unlikely to have favorable long-term financial implications for the state.

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I fear the end result of this is going to be federal bailouts of state insurance programs, which means that money will get politicized and used to further someones agenda as a means to passing.

I often wonder how far away we are from funding being withheld from states with bad public policy as perceived by the party in power. It sets dangerous precedents of coupling human suffering to policy maneuvers (which I realize, happens even today, but in broader strokes NY gets hurricane assistance same as Florida. Imagine a scenario where Florida's general public is punished because of laws on their books, or New York public is punished because of policies it has etc.)

> I often wonder how far away we are from funding being withheld from states with bad public policy as perceived by the party in power. It sets dangerous precedents of coupling human suffering to policy maneuvers

This has been going on for many years. From GOP states refusing to accept expanded Obamacare grants, thereby restricting access to healthcare for the poor to refusing to extend 9/11 first responder healthcare until people like Jon Stewart got involved, oppression and cruelty has been used as leverage in policymaking going back to the founding of the US.

> I fear the end result of this is going to be federal bailouts of state insurance programs, which means that money will get politicized and used to further someones agenda as a means to passing.

Welcome to the future: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Flood_Insurance_Progr...

Congress has been bailing out the program for almost 20 years now.

A subsidy for building houses in areas where they are likely to be struck by natural disasters (flooding in Florida, earthquakes in California) does not strike me as sensible.

At least it might finally force states to make hard choices.

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