Wrong. The Fed will have to set up one universal set of standards that all must follow. PROBLEM SOLVED! This was the plan all along. But now the states will volunteer control over it willingly. They'll still get stuck with the bill, however.
“They’ll still get stuck with the bill, however.”
No, the states won’t “get stuck” with the bill. State governors and legislators can’t just print money, and they can get kicked out for even contemplating raising taxes. Further, many states have balance budget laws and there is no money for Obamacare.
+1
People are not thinking it through to its logical conclusion. Which is, if their state doesn’t setup an exchange, the federal govt will and lock the state out of any influence of health insurance. Consider this scenario:
My employer drops medical coverage, pays the employee fine, and tells us to purchase our insurance from a govt exchange (they’ve already said this is a possibility in 2014; my guess it has been decided and they are just getting us mentally prepared for what’s coming). If my state doesn’t create an exchange, here are my options:
1) Buy coverage from the federal exchange. Cost? About what I’m paying out of my paycheck now. Let’s increase it some and say $5,000 a year.
2) Purchase an individual family policy from an insurance company in my state. Cost? In the ballpark of $20,000 a year.
3) Don’t have any health insurance.
$5,000 vs $20,000 vs no-insurance
I’m not going to let my family go without health insurance-period. And, I can’t afford $15,000 a year to make a political point. I’m boxed in and left with one (and only one choice): buy insurance from the federal pool for $5,000 a year.
The law says you can’t be forced to participate in a federal exchange, but there isn’t any law to prohibit it.
What the law does do is box you in. It leaves individuals with no realistic choice, other than purchasing insurance from a govt pool.