|
Obama-care threatens Idaho health
insurance exchange |
|
December 30, 2011 |
By Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter
You likely have heard a lot in the news media
over the past several months about health
insurance exchanges. I’ve heard from few people
objectively opposed to the idea of a one-stop
clearinghouse for the best, most up-to-date and
concise information available about options for
insuring themselves and their families against
the potentially catastrophic costs of health
care.
But I also share the concerns of many about who
would operate such an exchange, and whether it
would be market-driven and locally focused or
more attuned to the top-down models we have come
to expect out of Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, President Obama’s so-called
“Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act”
effectively halted plans by Idaho and some other
states to improve healthcare accessibility and
affordability. Idaho joined 25 other states in
challenging the constitutionality of this
unprecedented overreach of federal power. So as
we await a U.S. Supreme Court decision on the
case in 2012, I want Idaho to be prepared for
the nationwide healthcare environment – economic
and regulatory – that results from the court’s
ruling.
Obamacare mandated establishment in each state
of a health insurance exchange – essentially an
Internet portal where individuals and small
businesses can shop for health insurance. But
long before the passage of the law, Idaho was
exploring ways to create its own exchange
emphasizing free-market principles and creating
a competitive marketplace that would improve
access to coverage and keep insurance decisions
between Idaho patients and insurance providers.
But federal red tape created by Obamacare – plus
accelerated expansion of Medicaid programs –
complicated the process for states to
independently set up such a marketplace. Now
Idaho is left with some tough choices.
I allowed our State agencies to apply for a
health insurance exchange grant in order to
preserve the opportunity for legislators and our
citizens to discuss our options and decide
what’s best for Idaho. Now this next statement
is particularly important so please take note:
Passing up the opportunity to apply for the
grant would have left Idaho with only one option
– a health insurance exchange imposed and
operated by the federal government.
The decision on how to proceed with a health
insurance exchange is difficult, given
continuing uncertainty about the federal law and
what seems to be a growing number of strings
attached. Our path forward is one that warrants
input from those who will be most affected. The
Legislature will need to act with the best
interests of Idaho and our citizens in mind. In
the coming weeks we will be working together to
weigh all our options and the potential outcomes
associated with each of them.
Legislative approval to spend the grant money
would enable Idaho to build an exchange, but
even that option has potential complications. If
Idaho sets up an exchange using federal dollars
and the federal government does not approve of
how the exchange is structured, it will step in
and take over. If the Legislature rejects the
grant money and the Supreme Court upholds
Obamacare, Idaho loses control and our citizens
will be subjected to a federal exchange.
I want to work with the Legislature to find
IDAHO solutions to Idaho’s healthcare issues and
minimize the federal government’s footprint on
how Idahoans obtain their health insurance. The
fact that it could be June before the Supreme
Court issues an opinion on constitutional
challenges to Obamacare in no way diminishes the
need for the Legislature to discuss the issue
during its 2012 session.
I look forward to the discussion and hope that
it will be civil, informed and open. And I hope
it will have at its heart the deep-seated desire
that I know most Idahoans share to be the
architects of our own destiny. |
|
Questions or comments? Click
here to
email! |
|
|
|
|
