Walker said that no matter who controlled the exchange, the federal government would make all decisions and the product would be the same. The governor said in a conference call that the law does not allow for a “uniquely Wisconsin option.”
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, said he “totally” supports the governor.
“He recognizes a state run exchange isn’t really a state-run exchange,” Johnson said. “It puts Wisconsin taxpayers on the hook for the expense and disaster that’s gonna fall on our health care. I want to work with Gov. Walker to do everything we can to limit the damage.”
But not all local Republicans were fans of the move.
State Rep. Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said he would have preferred more local control over the health insurance exchanges. But “there is little chance there would have been enough local control to offset the many negative consequences of taking full or partial responsibility for creating the exchanges,” he said in a statement.
State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, said the governor made a “mistake” by choosing to go with a federal plan.
Hansen said Washington would now have power over health exchanges instead of decisions being made at home.
“He’s already cost us $38 million when he turned down federal dollars to set up the exchange,” Hansen said. “The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land … it’s gonna be here. It’s his failure now.”
State Sen. Frank Lasee, R-Ledgeview, praised the governor in a statement.
“Gov. Walker was faced with a tough decision today, he decided to lead Wisconsin away from an unpopular, bureaucratic, expensive, government-run Obamacare state health insurance exchange,” he said. “This was the right decision for Wisconsin. This decision will save Wisconsin taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.”
Comments
See below, 15 States have already refused to set up State Exchanges for Obamacare. Let YOUR State hear your voice!
STATES RALLYING TO DEFEAT OBAMACARE
UPDATE:Good news! Thanks in large part to your blast faxes, phone calls and letters, several states are indeed just saying "No!" to setting up ObamaCare insurance exchanges.
In fact, Mike Pence, who has been elected to be Indiana's next governor, has sent a letter to current Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels reiterating his "recommendation that Indiana should not develop a state-based health insurance exchange as part of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act."
And the Indianapolis Star described the odds of Governor Daniels following Pence's recommendation as "a near certainty."
If that is true, then the total number of states reportedly openly refusing to set up ObamaCare exchanges has now risen to 15 (Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin).
And that's not all. The Obama Administration has now been forced to extend its initial arbitrary deadline of November 16 for states to make a decision and inform the administration about whether they plan to create ObamaCare insurance exchanges and opt-in to ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion.
We are making progress, but now is not the time to let up. When it comes to blocking full implementation of ObamaCare, we cannot rest until a majority of states - or more - get on board.
TAKE ACTION NOW: Use this link to demand the states reject ObamaCare now!
Wisconsin Gov. Walker is a true Conservative. At first I thought it would be good to be in our own State Exchange, but Walker made it clear that we wouls still be "controlled" by the Federal Government with State Exchanges getting hit with Federal Mandates in the near future that would be the States responsibility. Walker wasn't falling for it, and by doing so will save Wisconsin taxpayers Multi-Millions of dollars. If all States do this Obamacare will fail like we knew it would anyway.
I knew Gov. Walker was right when I had seen that Wisconsin Democrats were all for the State Exchange.