South Dakota joins a growing number of states who are opting out of Obamacare health benefits exchanges. State health benefits exchanges are a crucial cog in the Obamacare system.
“South Dakota will not set up its own health insurance exchange, instead deferring to the federal government to operate and pay for a key component required by the federal health care overhaul, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Wednesday.
President Barack Obama’s health care law requires that each state have such an exchange, an online marketplace where patients and small businesses can shop for health insurance among competing plans. The federal government will directly operate and fund exchanges in states that choose not to operate their own.
Daugaard said South Dakota will join other states that have chosen not to run their own exchanges.” [link]
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To date, 37 states have either refused like Alaska, Florida, Lousiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Texas, Wisconsin, and others, or have yet to go forward with a state Obamacare exchange:
“There are still 37 states that haven’t formally committed to running their own exchanges.” [link]