I Told You So!

I just finished reading an op-ed from Mark Herring, blasting the rumored amendment coming from Governor Bob McDonnell to ban health care insurance companies from providing abortion coverage in the new state health exchange.  Herring is right, limiting private companies from providing that type of insurance is wrong.

But I need to take this opportunity to gloat.

Many of the General Assembly Democrats have been whining since Obamacare passed that they wanted a state run exchange.  As I have said a number of times before- this is incredibly short-sighted.  If Virginia did not set up an partnership exchange, the federal government would step in and do it for us.  This means no stupid laws like this.

By pushing us towards an exchange run by Richmond, rather than one run by the federal government, Democrats in the General Assembly have set the health care of Virginians back decades.  This will continue- every year you should expect some right wing bill to try and play around with our health care system.  Every.  Year.

Just remember- all Democrats had to do was vote no on setting up the state exchange and the federal government would have done it for us with none of this bullshit included. 

Comments

[Zachary Pruckowski]

According to WonkBlog, the deadline for states to set up the exchanges was Friday, and Virginia is going to have a federally-run exchange. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/18/its-official-the-feds-will-run-most-obamacare-exchanges)

Can you clarify what the deal is here? Because I've found both you and WonkBlog relatively reliable, and you appear to be disagreeing.

[notlarrysabato]

Sure. There are three types of exchanges. Federal, State and partnership. What the Governor is doing here is a partnership exchange where the feds run the system and the state makes the rules.

[notlarrysabato]

Part of the reason there is some confusion on what VA is doing is because of the lack of planning by the General Assembly. The medicaid expansion will be part of this budget which is when the Governor will notify the feds formally of his intentions.

[notlarrysabato]

Here's the partnership bill that is going to the Governor: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=131&typ=bil&val=sb922&submit=GO

[DCCyclone]

Dems killing a state or partnership exchange would've been politically perilous in its own right. They would've been on an island among Democrats across the country in taking that position. And they would've had to have defended explicitly saying the federal government should dictate health care in Virginia...not impossible to defend politically, but clearly a defensive posture which is always tough.

You're right on the merits of this issue, a GOP state government can do a lot of damage in the individual market with these exchanges. But the GOPers across the country are at least as stupid on this, since they don't realize the power they're surrendering by defaulting to a national exchange.