Senators in the state are having another go at passing this element of the healthcare overhaul.
Lawmakers in the state of New Jersey are making another effort to try to pass a health insurance exchange that is a central element of the federal healthcare reforms that went into effect in 2010.
The matter was being discussed by a state Senate committee this past Monday.
The state health insurance exchanges are meant to work as marketplaces that will provide families, individuals, and small businesses with a single location in which to compare and shop for their medical coverage plans. It is hoped that this will help to make the policies more affordable and that it will significantly reduce the number of people who are currently uninsured across the country.
So far, N.J. G
overnor Chris Christie has been hesitant to give his support to the health insurance exchange measure.
Governor Christie has shown notable reticence toward offering his support to have the measure proceed. Back in May, he had actually vetoed the health insurance exchange bill that was placed before him. His explanation for the decision was that he didn’t want to take any steps forward until the U.S. Supreme Court made its ruling on the law.
Since then, the top court in the country did indeed determine that the health insurance exchange requirement was constitutional, and many states have been moving forward in the creation of blueprints for their own online marketplaces. Others have found that they have waited too long and that they will now be forced to turn the program over to the federal government to be created and operated. This was the alternative for states that felt that they either could not run their programs, or they if they did not wish to do so.
Back in July, Governor Christie explained that it was his intention to go over all of the different options that were available to the state, which included allowing the federal government to take over for the state’s health insurance exchange. Now, the time has come around again for the lawmakers to determine whether or not New Jersey will indeed be establishing its own marketplace, or if the federal government will be doing so on its behalf.
