In and Out

Not the burger place, we are talking about HIX. Those federally mandated Obamacare health insurance exchanges that are supposed to provide consumers a path to "affordable" health insurance.

A little more than 10 months from now HIX will go live as they say in the TV business.

At least that's the plan.

Lately it seems like things might go off track as the reality of the much anticipated date for the final rollout of Obamacare becomes a reality.

Maybe . . .

states can decide whether to apply the same regulatory requirements to health plans both inside and outside the exchanges. Federally operated marketplaces don’t have this flexibility, however, because they can regulate only the health insurance plans sold through the exchanges.

If outside plans sold coverage that wasn’t as comprehensive but was cheaper than those in the federal exchanges, sicker people might gravitate toward the federal marketplaces, resulting in adverse selection. “Over time, the coverage sold through exchanges will thus become more expensive as the sicker population incurs more claims — deterring more people from buying coverage through the exchange,”

 This is what happens when amateurs in DC attempt to regulate an industry they do not understand. Of course, that has never stopped them before . . .

Feds make the rules for exchange plans, states make the rules for non-exchange plans.

What could possibly go wrong there?

 “Because HHS will be operating the exchange in 25 states, it will be difficult for the agency to tailor an exchange to meet each state’s unique insurance market needs,”

 And this never occurred to them before?

Maybe "one size fits all" doesn't work so well, huh?

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, has said he wants to continue to review the situation, but “in our state, a lot of decisions can’t be made until the federal government’s fiscal house is put in order,” Dr. Heinemann said. Daugaard has indicated that he is reluctant to commit to an exchange and spend state dollars on one until he’s seen what happens with the budget sequestration process that is set to make automatic across-the-board cuts to government spending starting March 1.

 Well yeah, but the federal government never runs out of money, right? I mean, PCIP is still around and that is a federally funded and run health insurance program.