astronomical. here in new york where i amt average, according to a 2009 st study is over $6600. go to iowa, the average is $2600. a $4,000 difference just because you can't cross state lines to buy insurance. some of that has to do with competition in the state, the cost of living. but another key that we learned is that states have different laws that mandate what insurers can cover. in new york there are 51 different mandates that your insurance policy has to cover. take a look at iowa. about half that, 26 different mandates. that's it. so the more mandates, the more expensive the policy. in new york, they mandate covering drug and alcohol abuse, chemotherapy and screenings for prostate cancer. iowa, kyra, doesn't mandate any of that. that's why you're seeing this difference in cost. what democrats say is if you want us to get on board with this, you have to have a mip mandate of what is covered across state lines for us to get