BOISE -- Will Idaho have its own state-based health insurance plan? Governor Otter says it is not likely, but he isn't backing down on the fight to get one. What does he need? More time.
The governor was put in the hot seat Wednesday morning by a room full of journalists at the Idaho Press Club's annual Breakfast with Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter. One of the first topics addressed: the lawsuit against the federal goverment's healthcare plan.
Otter signed the Idaho Health Freedom Act into law, which required the attorney general to file a lawsuit against the federal government if the healthcare reform plan passed. Now, Otter says the state is running out of time to develop a plan of its own. The Supreme Court will hear the case, which now has 26 other states onboard, at the end of March. Even if the court rules the inividual mandate unconstitutional, it could still mean the mandate stays in place if Idaho doesn't have a plan approved. If the court rules in favor of the federal government, the governor said the election in November could turn the whole thing around.
“Right now the chances are pretty good that we are not going to have a state-designed exchange because of the timeline itself," Governor Otter said Wednesday. "And what we’re going to have if it stays in place and nothing changes in November, we will have a federally-imposed exchange in the state. I think I’ve made my thoughts pretty well known on that, I don’t like the affordable health care act.”
Despite the race against time, Otter made it clear that he is not giving up.
