What it's costing Ohio to ignore health insurance exchanges

[ladym55]

Progress Ohio posted this information today on the cost of NOT participating in health insurance. Kasich and Mary Taylor have claimed that setting up the insurance exchanges would cost too much money. However, by waiting, they have passed up large federal grants that would help PAY for the exchanges.

while the five states bordering Ohio have pulled down over $130 million in federal exchange grants, Ohio has received only $1 million -and only because the previous Governor, Ted Strickland, applied for it.

The Kasich administration complains that they don't have the money to set up a state insurance exchange. But whose fault is that? For two years, they've sat on their hands and refused to apply for the federal funding expressly designed for that purpose. .... 35 states have applied for and gotten more grant money than Ohio has. The Lt. Governor even returned a $1 million federal grant Ohio received to help consumers challenge claim denials by insurance companies. What the Kasich administration is doing borders on malfeasance."

The blog post at Progress Ohio includes a chart showing the grant money that has gone to five neighboring states, and the pittance that has come Ohio's way.

http://www.progressohio.org/blog/2012/07/while-governor-dithers-ohio-neighbors-rake-in-aca-exchange-dollars.html#more

This isn't governing. This is stupidity, plain and simple, and the people of Ohio pay dearly.

[limpyhobbler]

1. Would it be better if Ohio would just elect not to set up an exchange?

If a state chooses not to create an exchange, then the residents may participate in the federal exchange.

I'm guessing the federal exchange would be better than an Ohio exchange, since it would be a bigger pool with more choices.

Does that make sense to anybody? I understand there is grant money to be had, but I feel like the federal exchange might be a better choice. Especially with Kasich in office, he might create the exchange but then deliberately try to make it crappy so nobody will like it.

I kind of trust the federal government to better quality work at this point instead of giving control to the state gov't.

[just1voice]

2. It's governing by the corrupt, for the corrupt

And the stupid voters of Ohio with (R)s next to their name are getting screwed just as badly as they wished.