Louisiana Says No to Insurance Exchanges

Governor Bobby Jindal and the state legislature in Louisiana have decided to opt out of the creation of a state insurance exchange as outlined in the federal health insurance overhaul, choosing to let the federal government administer the program.

Bruce Greenstein, Secretary of the State Department of Health and Hospitals, has confirmed this decision, and said that with it, Lousiana has become the second state to so decide.

The exchanges are insurance markets meant to allow consumers to choose a subsidized private insurance plan from a range of coverage options and levels. The deadline to have them all up and running, whether they’re run by the states or by the feds, is 2014.

Greenstein believes that federal officials haven’t provided enough detail about how the exchanges should be run. He also said he thinks insurance premiums will go up under the new system, and if that happens he doesn’t want the state government to take the blame.