North Carolina Gov. McCrory Opposes State Run Health Exchange

February 13, 2013Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle1 Comments

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said he does not think the state is ready to run health exchanges called for in the federal Affordable Care Act.

McCrory’s office issued a statement saying the governor had reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of expanding Medicaid in North Carolina.

The state must tell federal officials by Friday if it will run the health exchanges to help those without insurance obtain coverage.

McCrory said the state is not ready to expand Medicaid and should allow the federal government to run the health exchanges.

He said the current Medicaid system is broken and not ready to expand. He said to do so would put taxpayers at risk.

He also said the federal government has not provided enough information on the long-term costs.

The Republican governor’s stance is at odds with the preference of the state’s elected insurance commissioner, Wayne Goodwin, a Democrat who supports a state-run exchange. In a recent interview with Insurance Journal, Goodwin said the decision on how the state should proceed is up to McCrory and lawmakers but Goodwin made his opinion clear:

“Just as I did with their predecessors, I have expressed my concern that the state of North Carolina knows best for North Carolinians than the United States federal government does, particularly as it relates to health insurance and exchange matters. There are a variety of reasons why the others have varying opinions, but I believe that the state should do its job and protect consumers and help regulate this marketplace.”

Goodwin told Insurance Journal he believes health care providers and the business community also prefer a state

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Idaho’s Otter Opts For State-Based Insurance Exchange

Butch” Otter said a state-built health insurance exchange is the best option for Idaho under the federal government’s health care overhaul, but left the final decision up to lawmakers who return to Boise in January.

Otter has criticized President Obama’s health care overhaul

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South Dakota Will Not Run its Own Health Insurance Exchange

September 28, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticle1 Comments

South Dakota will not set up its own health insurance exchange, instead deferring to the federal government to operate and pay for a key component required by the federal health care overhaul, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said.

President Barack Obama’s health care law requires that each state have such an exchange, an online marketplace where patients and small businesses can shop for health insurance among competing plans. The federal government will directly operate and fund exchanges in states that choose not to operate their own.

Daugaard said South Dakota will join other states that have chosen not to run their own exchanges. About half the states apparently will let the federal government run exchanges, at least initially.

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Beebe: Arkansas to Stick With Partnership Exchange

December 14, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Gov. Mike Beebe said Arkansas will move forward on a partnership with the federal government for an online insurance marketplace required under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, though he believes the state can revisit that decision later.

Beebe said he hadn’t found support from lawmakers to opt for a state-run model of the insurance exchange, in which households and private businesses shop for private coverage. Beebe had told the federal government that Arkansas would opt for a partnership model in a letter last month, but left open the possibility of a state-run plan after the Obama administration extended the deadline.

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Connecticut Moving Ahead With New Health Care Exchange

August 28, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Connecticut officials are pushing ahead with plans to set up the new health insurance exchange, a marketplace where individuals and businesses can find affordable coverage, by next fall.

The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services last week awarded the state a $107 million grant. It was the latest allotment from the federal government as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law. To date, the state has now received a total of $116 million.

Connecticut is one of a handful of states to have received a so-called Level-Two Establishment Grant. It joins Washington, Rhode Island, Maryland, Nevada and Vermont.

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N.Y. Gov. Cuomo Orders Statewide Health Insurance Exchange

April 13, 2012Email ThisPrintNewslettersTweetArticleComments

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order Thursday to establish a statewide health insurance exchange intended to reduce coverage costs for individuals, small businesses and local governments.

The New York Health Benefit Exchange, a federally authorized and financed marketplace for buyers, is also aimed at including more than a million New Yorkers now without coverage.


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