Joins Florida governor in taking a pass on state exchange, others may follow

On ObamaCare’s one year anniversary, Gov. Bobby Jindal has stated that Louisiana will not set up the exchange system designed to accommodate new insurance regulations. The exchanges would involve state level bureaucracies that serve as a conduit for the purchase of insurance. They would create a new framework to expand coverage and to enforce federal standards for participating plans.

Michael Cannon, the director of health care studies for the Cato Institute, argues that states should reject ObamaCare’s exchange system and decline any funding intended to facilitate their creation. Louisiana’s governor appears to be following through on this advice. Jindal has also expressed support  for an alternative set of reforms, which he says would expand choice and reduce costs.

Kyle Plotkin, a press secretary to the governor, told Politico PULSE:

“ObamaCare is a terrible policy that needs to be repealed and replaced. It creates enormous new costs and future unfunded liabilities for states financing their Medicaid programs.”

Jindal has extensive experience with the health care industry and it is evident that he developed an appreciation for the importance of free markets, Cannon noted.

“Bobby Jindal knows something about health care,” Cannon said. “He knows this approach to health care is going to cause private insurance markets to implode and he doesn’t want to be any part of it.”

Jindal previously served as assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush and was also secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals.

Cannon also said it is irresponsible for governors to implement a law that may ultimately be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and to accept federal funds that will only serve to burden future generations with additional debt.

“If a state runs their own exchange, it’s not going to give them any flexibility and there will not be room to make improvements,” the Cato scholar warned.

Kevin Mooney is an investigative reporter with the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. He can be reached at kmooney@pelicanpolicy.org and you can follow him on Twitter.