Pence Asks Daniels To Deny State-Run Exchange
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Mitch Daniels said Tuesday that he will let his successor as governor decide whether Indiana should establish a state-run health insurance exchange required in the federal health care law, and Republican candidate Mike Pence has told him he opposes creating one.
The possibility of Republicans winning back the White House, questions about the cost of an exchange and unclear federal rules all led Pence to dub it an “uncertainty” in a letter to Daniels sent Tuesday.
“For all the foregoing reasons, it is my recommendation that the State of Indiana should not establish or operate a state-based health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act,” Pence wrote.
Libertarian Rupert Boneham met with Daniels’ staff last Monday and plans to release his recommendations soon, campaign manager Evan McMahon said. A spokesman for Democrat John Gregg said he planned to meet with Daniels in the coming weeks.
A decision to forego a state exchange would send Indiana residents without health insurance into a federal exchange.
Daniels asked the three candidates for their input before he submits a response to the federal government. States have until Nov. 16 to decide whether they will start their own exchange or opt into the federal one.
“One of them is going to be governor-elect when the deadline comes in November, and I will report on Indiana’s behalf whatever that candidate, at that point the governor-elect, thinks on this question,” Daniels said Tuesday.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that the individual mandate in the health care law is constitutional, clearing the way for the government to set up exchanges, or marketplaces for purchasing health insurance.