Gov. Bev Perdue tried to downplay the significance of a bill to protect health care freedom in North Carolina in saying she would not veto it, but her comments belie ObamaCare supporters’ fierce opposition to the bill in both chambers of the legislature and outside. The bill’s becoming law adds momentum toward repealing or overturning the massive expansion of Medicaid masquerading as health reform. It solidifies standing for anyone in North Carolina seeking to sue the federal government and raises the bar for the state to impose an insurance mandate if and when the federal law expires. This is great news for North Carolinians and all Americans.

 

The next fight
There are already two bills, one from Republicans and one from Democrats, to create a health-insurance exchange in North Carolina. Tomorrow (February 22), the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Pam Silberman will tell House Insurance Committee members what laws, including an exchange, they must pass to comply with ObamaCare.

There is a simpler way to deal with exchanges and other aspects of the law. Stop implementing it. As Cato Institute scholars Michael Cannon and Ilya Shapiro recently wrote, "It is simply reckless for financially strapped federal and state governments to pour resources into changing our health care system when those changes may not ultimately pass constitutional muster."

Even if the law remains, North Carolina’s choice on exchanges is not simply for the state to set one up or let the federal government establish one. The only policies available in an exchange will be those from insurance companies licensed in North Carolina. It is much simpler to deny a license to companies participating in an exchange than to try creating an exchange that will work. The legislature can pass such a simple law and not worry about grants from the federal government with strings attached. Of course, simple does not mean easy. Insurance companies want an exchange because it means more customers in a controlled market. Single-payer supporters want an exchange because it increases government control over a market.

For those in the individual market, the internet is already an effective exchange where a person can compare prices on eHealthInsurance.com and the websites for Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana. It is how I purchased insurance for my family seven years ago and how I continue to make sure the price we pay for our policy is competitive. Can government really create a better system with a captive market? 

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