States are lagging in the creation of health insurance exchanges, the supermarkets where millions of consumers are supposed to buy subsidized private coverage under President Obama’s health care overhaul.
Many states are waiting for a Supreme Court decision or even the November election results, to see whether central elements of the new law might be overturned or repealed. But that will be too late to start work. By Jan. 1, 2013, the Obama administration will decide whether each state is ready to run its own exchange or whether the federal government should do the job instead.
Republican governors and state legislators across the country are split. Some want to set up rudimentary exchanges with limited features — as a defensive tactical maneuver — rather than cede control to Washington. More-conservative Republicans do not want to do anything at all.
After a great deal of bickering and bargaining, the insurance exchanges emerged as a centerpiece of the 2010 health care law, crucial to achieving Mr. Obama’s promise of affordable coverage for all Americans.
The issue was a major topic of discussion over the weekend at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association here, and it is expected to come up Monday when governors meet with Mr. Obama at the White House.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/health/policy/a-wait-and-see-approach-for-states-on-insurance-exchanges.html?_r=1
Hat tip: The New York Times
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