Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has sent a deadline-day letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius telling her a Missouri state-based health is not an option for Missouri, and the state will “be unable to proceed with a state based exchange”.
Those exchanges are part of the new health care law.
The law, however, is fiercely opposed by Missouri lawmakers.
Earlier this month, Missouri voted against expressed their opposition by approving a ban on the Governor from setting up an exchange without getting the approval of the state legislature or a vote of the people.
Health exchanges would create of pool of private insurance options that would b e available to Missourians who do not have health insurance.
If states do establish their own exchanges, the federal government may set one up for their state.
Health exchange opponents object to it on many levels. One of them includes the real possibility the federal government could shift some of the costs of the health exchanges from Washington to the states.
Nixon, who has said as much before, wrote Sebelius informing her of new Missouri law.
He told her his preference is to have the state operate its own exchange.
