{"id":8153,"date":"2012-06-12T13:17:11","date_gmt":"2012-06-12T19:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=8153"},"modified":"2012-06-12T13:17:52","modified_gmt":"2012-06-12T19:17:52","slug":"idaho-awaits-outcome-of-health-insurance-exchange-bet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2012\/06\/12\/idaho-awaits-outcome-of-health-insurance-exchange-bet\/","title":{"rendered":"Idaho Awaits Outcome Of Health Insurance Exchange Bet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Molly Messick \/ StateImpact Idaho<\/p>

Idaho Department of Insurance Director Bill Deal advocated for a state-run health insurance exchange at the AP Legislative Preview in January.<\/p><\/div>\n

Mitt Romney laid out his health care plan this morning<\/a>, as the Supreme Court nears a decision on the constitutionality of the federal health care law.\u00a0 It’s the first time Romney has discussed the specifics of his proposals since a speech in Michigan last year, the Los Angeles Times<\/em> says<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post sums up<\/a> Romney’s plan this way:<\/p>\n

“Romney said he wants to make the nation\u2019s health-care system more like a consumer market, likening it to the tire, automobile and air-filter markets that he said keep costs down and quality up. To do so, he said, he would allow individuals and small businesses to buy insurance coverage with the same tax advantage that larger businesses enjoy and to purchase insurance across state lines or join organizations to give them bargaining power with insurers.” — The Washington Post<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Romney also vowed to pursue the law’s repeal if he is elected “by granting a waiver to all 50 states to opt out of the law\u2019s restrictions,” the article says.<\/p>\n

It’s a course of action that would no doubt meet favorable response here in Idaho.\u00a0 State legislators passed on the opportunity to establish a state-run health insurance exchange during the 2012 legislative session, prompting anxiety among some lawmakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rep. Fred Wood (R-Burley), a retired physician and former director of the Cassia Regional Medical Center, said in April that he believed state legislators were taking a significant risk in deciding not to pursue a state-run exchange. \u201cThey\u2019re betting that the Supreme Court will strike down the entire law,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if we bet the wrong way, it could be very costly for the\u00a0state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Costly, Wood said, because states that create their own exchanges will have some discretion<\/a> to set the essential benefits that must be provided by insurers. States falling under the federal plan likely won\u2019t have that flexibility.<\/p>\n

A summary of the Supreme Court’s three days of hearings on the Affordable Care Act is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mitt Romney laid out his health care plan this morning, as the Supreme Court nears a decision on the constitutionality of the federal health care law.\u00a0 It’s the first time Romney has discussed the specifics of his proposals since a speech in Michigan last year, the Los Angeles Times says. The Washington Post sums up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":3468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[235,119],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8153"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}