Governor Nikki Haley has informed the Obama administration that the State of South Carolina will not set up a state-based health care exchange.
Haley sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius piror to today’s deadline for states to decide if they intend to participate in the health exchange program created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
In the letter, Gov. Haley informed Sec. Sebelius that South Carolina “should not and will not set up a state-based health care exchange.”
Under PPACA, the governor wrote, “the federal government is required to establish exchanges and gave individual states the choice to participate. Yet, as we worked through the process of analyzing options available to South Carolina, it became abundantly clear that state ‘participation’ was in name only.”
“[T]he law’s state-based exchange programs are not state-based at all. Instead, they simply pass along to the state the burdens of a new and cumbersome bureaucracy,” she continued.
The governor also urged federal officials to provide all states with clear guidance on how state-based, partnership, and federally-facilitated exchanges will work or to delay the implementation deadline.
“The amount of uncertainty in our economy is growing given the lack of information available from the federal government at a time when we can hardly afford it,” the governor wrote.
South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan released the following statement on Governor Haley’s decision not to implement the state-based exchanges established under ObamaCare.
“I applaud Governor Haley for putting the people of South Carolina first, and saying ‘no’ to this monstrous and inefficient ObamaCare program. As I’ve said from the beginning, ObamaCare interferes with doctor/patient relationships, costs too much money, doesn’t improve the quality of medical care, and is a major abuse of federal power. I’m proud of South Carolina’s decision, and am hopeful that more states will follow suit.”
Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) made the following statement about the decision by S.C. Governor Nikki Haley to not set up a state-based health care exchange.
“Governor Haley should be applauded for standing up for South Carolina patients, doctors, and taxpayers by opposing the creation of an Obamacare exchange in our state,” said Senator DeMint. “Her decision will help shield South Carolina from job destroying tax increases on state businesses, save taxpayers millions of dollars in set up costs, and allow our state to fight for health care solutions that don’t limit choices of families and doctors. Obamacare is already failing, forcing businesses across the country to cut back wages and hours while increasing health care costs and things will only get worse. We must continue to fight for full repeal of this government takeover and for commonsense solutions that expand health care freedom.”
