Governor Gives Up Hope Of State Health Care Exchange

By Michigan Radio

It looks likely that the federal government will step in to run a health insurance exchange for Michigan.

The exchanges are supposed to help people choose and buy coverage. They're mandated by the new federal health care law.

Governor Rick Snyder had been lobbying state lawmakers to pass bills that would allow Michigan to set up its own exchange. But he now says he does not expect that to happen before a January deadline.

No one knows exactly what the federal exchange will look like, but University of Michigan Professor Helen Levy has some ideas. She's worked with President Obama's economic team.

"The biggest issue is, do they negotiate prices or not,” she says. “Or they do just say, you just put your product on the marketplace and there it is.

“Because the law already spells out, you know, what the benefits have to be. So all that kind of stuff is not up for grabs, essentially."

Republicans in the state legislature hope a change in the White House and the U.S. Senate could block the controversial health care law.