While supporters and opponents of the federal health insurance law wait for the US Supreme Court to hear arguments on it, there are still questions about what Ohio is doing to prepare if the law takes effect as scheduled in 2014. Each state is required to set up a health insurance marketplace called an exchange where people can shop for and buy insurance by the end of next year, or the federal government will set up the exchanges. Republican Governor John Kasich is no fan of the law, but has previously said the state should go ahead and set up an exchange. He recently returned from a meeting with other Republican governors, and tells Ohio Public Radio’s Karen Kasler he’s moving a little more cautiously now.
Democratic Representative John Carney of Columbus has written to Kasich and Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor, asking them to testify before a House committee about what the state is doing to prepare for the health insurance law to take effect – if it does. Last month, voters approved Issue 3, a constitutional amendment that prevented Ohioans from being required to participate in a government-run health insurance system. A lawyer for the Tea Party-backed group that Issue 3 on the ballot says he’ll consider legal action if the state starts setting up an exchange.