The Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, decided that Nebraska would opt for a federally run health insurance exchange. Senator Jeremy Nordquist has introduced a bill that would require the governor, and other lawmakers, to use that exchange to acquire health insurance coverage.
Part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (which is also known as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare), requires every state to have a health insurance exchange. The purpose of the exchanges is to enable individuals and small businesses to easily find affordable health insurance.
There were three different options that a state could choose for their exchange. One was to create a state-based exchange. Another was to create an exchange that is a partnership between the federal government and the government of a state. The third option was to allow the federal government to create and administer the health insurance exchange for a particular state.
The Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman, decided that Nebraska would have a federal exchange. Some factors involved in his decision included the high cost of putting together a state-based exchange and the governor’s perception that there would be a lack of control the state would have in how a state-based exchange would work.
In response, Senator Jeremy Nordquist has introduced a bill. It is called bill LB18. The bill would require all Nebraska lawmakers to use their state’s federal health exchange to obtain health insurance coverage. It would remove their access to the state health insurance they currently are receiving. He said:
If the private health insurance market that we create through legislation is good enough for our constituents, it should be good enough for policymakers and elected officials.
By forcing policymakers to buy health insurance on the individual market, they may finally understand the challenges faced by so many Nebraska families, who struggle to find a health insurance plan that is both affordable and provides the kind of coverage they need.
According to Kaiser Health News, members of Congress and their staffs will be required to buy their health insurance coverage through the exchanges if they want to have coverage from the federal government. Other federal employees will continue to be covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP).
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