State Governor Mary Fallin has postponed the choice regarding the health plan exchange.
Though the insurance news from each state regarding the decision they have made as to how their health exchanges would be run had an original deadline of Friday, November 16, 2012, Governor Mary Fallin of Oklahoma has delayed the announcement of her choice.
This decision has to do with a central part of the Affordable Care Act, the online marketplace.
Alex Weintz, a spokesperson for the governor, released an insurance news email that stated that “Governor Fallin has decided to postpone an announcement on the future of health insurance exchanges in Oklahoma.” He added that “She will take advantage of the extension by continuing to study the issue and evaluate the state’s options.”
The office of the governor has not released a timeline for the insurance news announcement.
However, Weintz did add that “we do expect one sooner rather than later.” Although it would appear that the governor is late in her choice, she is actually taking advantage of an extension that was just released on Thursday night in the insurance news from Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Affordable Care Act says that the states must each have a health insurance exchange, which is an online marketplace where individuals, families, and small businesses can compare different coverage plans, purchase their policies, and apply for subsidies if they are eligible. Those who are eligible for Medicaid can also use the exchanges for enrollment.
According to Senator Gary Stanislawski (R-Tulsa), this insurance news doesn’t seem to him that the delay from Fallin is any indication that she is leaning one way or the other regarding the exchange for Oklahoma. “I believe it is a good decision,” he said. Senator Stanislawski was a joint legislative committee chairman that was responsible for studying the issue of the online health coverage marketplace and other related topics, last year.
The senator believes that the delay of the official insurance news announcement will provide the governor an additional chance to go over the issue with the state’s legislators and to understand the options more thoroughly.
