Richert: It’s A Math Problem

When they rejected a state-run health insurance exchange — an idea supported by many business leaders — Idaho legislators governed by ideology. That was this year. Will 2013 be any different, when lawmakers wrestle with another health care issue, expanding Idaho’s Medicaid program? I hope so. And I actually think this could be more than just ungrounded optimism. The obvious difference is the timing. The 2012 health insurance exchange debate, such as it was, coincided with the Legislature’s waiting game on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the federal health care law. Some lawmakers assumed the court would declare the health care law unconstitutional, and they saw no need to create an exchange — an online health insurance marketplace, and one of the federal law’s hallmarks. Their assumptions on constitutional law shot, legislators must decide again where they stand on an exchange/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Is it irresponsible for ideological legislators to continue to fight Obamacare?