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Pence Says Recent ACA Rulings Point to Repeal

Courtesy
/
State of Indiana

Governor Mike Pence says recent court rulings on the Affordable Care Act should send a message to Congress to repeal the controversial healthcare law.

Two federal appeals courts this week issued conflicting rulings on subsidies offered to consumers who purchase health insurance through federally-run exchanges – one court invalidated them, the other upheld them. 

Indiana has a federally-operated exchange. Governor Pence says he stands by his decision not to set up a state-run marketplace, and says he’s hopeful Congress will take a step back and pursue a different kind of healthcare reform.

“A combination of giving states flexibility to provide innovative programs like the Healthy Indiana Plan for people that are just getting started out on the first rung of the ladder of the American Dream as well as bringing market-based reforms that give people better and broader choices in health insurance but gives people the opportunity to choose whether or not they have health insurance is a much better pathway for the future of healthcare in this country,” Pence said.

Democrats renewed their criticisms of the governor’s decision not to expand Medicaid after the state Thursday announced it is cutting off enrollment in the Healthy Indiana Plan this year due to funding restrictions. 

Pence says he’s committed to building on the success of the HIP program by pursuing expansion that encourages Hoosiers to take more ownership of their healthcare decisions. 

The governor is in Washington, D.C., next week and will meet with new Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to discuss the state’s expansion proposal known as HIP 2.0.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.