The Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, has announced that Pennsylvania will have a health insurance exchange that is run by the federal government. Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason has released a statement that applauds the governor’s decision.
The Affordable Care Act requires all states to have a health insurance exchange. There were three options about how that exchange would be run.
One option was to have a state-based health insurance exchange. The deadline for that option has now passed. Another option is to have an exchange that is run as a partnership between the state and the federal government. The third option is to have the federal government create and run a state’s health insurance exchange.
Governor Tom Corbett is a Republican. He has officially decided that Pennsylvania will have a health insurance exchange that is created and run by the federal government. That is the decision that many, (but not all) states that have Republican governors are making.
WGAL News 8 has the entire statement made by Governor Corbett. It is on page two of their article. In short, the governor feels that the federal government’s responses to the state of Pennsylvania’s inquires about how a state-based exchange would operate were not to his satisfaction.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that the Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman, Rob Gleason, has released a statement that applauds Governor Corbett’s decision. According to his page at PAGOP.org, Rob Gleason was elected Chairman of The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers in 1999. It is described as:
…an organization that represents the 300 largest insurance brokers in the United States.
The page also says:
Rob Gleason is well known throughout the country in his field and is considered one of the leading brokers in the insurance industry.
The health insurance exchanges are designed to make it possible for individuals and small businesses to find affordable health insurance. The plans in the exchange will be given a “metallic rating” of bronze, silver, gold, or platinum.
At a glance, people will be able to see exactly what percentage of coverage a plan that they are considering purchasing will cover. Right now, people go to insurance brokers when they need help comparing health insurance plans, or help finding an affordable one.
On the other side, is Jenny Englerth, of Family First Health in New York. She feels that the people of Pennsylvania would have been better off with a state-based exchange. Part of what she said was:
The state knows about its residents, it knows about insurance, it knows the market. We saw it as a viable option for the state.
Image by DrivingtheNortheast on Flickr