Republicans got very, very busy in the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of the things House Republicans did was to vote to turn down federal funds for creating a statewide health exchange to help make health care insurance available to all Michiganders.
In an action with major implications for health reform in Michigan, the state House has voted to turn down — at least for now — nearly $10 million in federal funds to create a statewide health exchange by 2014 to sell more affordable, standardized health insurance to consumers and small businesses.The action, considered a victory for opponents of federal health reforms, means Michigan “runs the risk of falling behind other states” planning the health exchanges, said Steve Hilfinger, director of Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Insurance Regulation.
“The more we delay, the more we risk a federal answer being imposed on us,” Hilfinger said. […]
The exchanges, a critical part of President Barack Obama’s health reforms, would begin in 2014 and would offer affordable, standardized health insurance to consumers and small businesses. States can create their own exchange, as most plan to do. The federal government will run them in states that opt not to do it on their own.
The true irony in this is that by doing this they make the imposition of some sort of national/federal program on our state MORE likely. They decry the intrusion of Big Federal Government into how our state manages its affairs but then turn around and do something that all but ensures it.
The Senate passed the supplemental appropriations bill with the health care exchange funding intact but the House removed it. House Speaker Bolger says there won’t be a conference committee to reconcile the two bills meaning the Senate is likely to pass it is, without the creation of a state health care exchange.
Governor Snyder is in favor of creating it.
