Group says health insurance exchange shouldn't be political issue

CEDAR RAPIDS - Iowa should put partisan politics aside and move to establish a state-run health insurance exchange, according to the Iowa Exchange Alliance, a group formed last spring.

“If we pass on this opportunity to design our own plan, it's gone forever,” said Loren Coppock, managing director of TrueNorth Companies, an insurance brokerage firm in Cedar Rapids that is a member of the alliance. “We should do that promptly and not let the clock run out.”

Under the Affordable Care Act, each state is required to establish such an exchange as a mechanism for residents to purchase health insurance plans.

The concern is that Iowa will wait too long; some Republican legislators, in particular, would prefer to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on whether individuals should be required to purchase health insurance in the first place, Coppock said.

That answer might not come until this summer, at which time it will be too late. The act calls for legislation to be enacted before next Jan. 1, or the government will step in to establish a federally operated exchange. Iowa's legislative session is scheduled to end April 17.

Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad, said Branstad would need to see any legislation before making a decision about supporting it.

“The governor continues to believe that the government takeover of health care is unworkable and unaffordable for states, and the governor continues to believe that the lawsuit will be successful,” Albrecht said in an email.

He went on to say, however, that “should the government takeover of health care move forward, we need to manage and implement specific solutions for Iowa's extensive needs, rather than a federally mandated, one-size-fits-all exchange. If the federal government forces states to have any exchange, it should be Iowa-built rather than crafted by a bureaucrat in Washington.”

Even former state Republican chairman Chuck Larson, who spoke Thursday with The Gazette Editorial Board as a representative of the alliance, acknowledged that the Legislature needs to authorize the exchange before next January.

“We're advocating and articulating our concerns,” Larson said, adding that the group is meeting with small business owners and other Iowans.

Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, introduced a bill this week that would establish an Iowa health benefit marketplace. Hatch said Republicans are apprehensive about approving anything that complies with the Affordable Care Act, but waiting will result in the federal government interceding.

“That's putting politics before people,” he said.

TrueNorth's Coppock said Iowa is renowned for its insurance expertise and “Iowans know what works here.” A federally controlled exchange could have mandates, fees and taxes that will work against Iowans, he said.

John Swenby, president of Paltech Enterprises, a pallet and crate company based in Urbana, said he hopes the Supreme Court declares the individual insurance mandate unconstitutional. With 35 Iowa employees and 380 total throughout the United States, the cost of providing benefits is becoming unaffordable, he said - so anything that does get enacted needs to be cost-effective.

Already, 10 states have passed legislation to establish insurance exchanges and 25 are considering legislation this year, Hatch said.

Iowa has received a $1 million planning grant and a $7.7 million implementation grant for a health insurance exchange.