Indiana does not want a state-run health insurance exchange.
Governor Daniels notified the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of governor-elect Mike Pence's conclusion that creating a state-run exchange would cost too much. Pence also indicated little interest in a state-federal partnership, an option chosen by some states.
The notification means the federal government will design the online marketplace that Indiana residents will use to choose health insurance policies when coverage begins in 2014 under the nation's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act PPACA, commonly called Obamacare.
In a letter explaining his objections to a state-run system, Pence wrote, "Without knowing more details on the cost and nature of state-based exchanges, it is possible that our state could be placed in the untenable position of serving as the new administrator of a new federal health care bureaucracy over which we have little control." He estimated that building the online marketplace, which would resemble Travelocity, would cost $50 million.
Daniels said he ceded the decision to his successor because the new system will go into effect during Pence's term.
