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May 11, 2012 at 05:57 AM
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, R, has vetoed state Assembly Bill 2171, a bill that would create a health insurance exchange, or Web-based insurance marketplace, in his state.
Christie says the state should wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) before moving ahead with efforts to create an exchange.
The lead sponsor of the bill, Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., D-Delran, N.J., has blasted the veto.
“The governor has sent a clear message to the 1.3 million uninsured New Jerseyeans and the many others who are underinsured and struggle to afford their existing insurance,” Conaway says in a statement. “He doesn’t care.”
Christie says A.B. 2171, the New Jersey Health Benefits Exchange Act bill, would commit New Jersey to establishing and operating a new, Medicaid-like program for individuals with incomes between 133% and 200% of the federal poverty level without the state knowing how much federal funding will be available to support the plan.
“While I appreciate the Legislature’s attempt to find steady policy footing in these shifting legal sands, I am concerned that a hastily created exchange in New Jersey will impose unnecessary obligations upon the State’s citizens,” Christie says in a message explaining the veto.
PPACA opponents are fighting the act in Congress as well as in the courts.
If the act takes effect as written and works as drafters expect, it will help individuals and small groups use new tax credits to buy health coverage that meets minimum federal standards. The federal government would let a state choose between letting any qualified, willing carrier sell coverage through an exchange or limiting access to carriers that go through some kind of bidding or negotiation process.
