Gov. Dennis Daugaard said that South Dakota will not be creating a state health insurance exchange. This comes amidst several other governors following suit.
Gov. Daugaard said that “After extensive research and analysis, it has become very apparent that operating our own exchange will simply not work for South Dakota.” Daugaard also said he opposes the federal law, “Because it is a large expansion of government that does little about the rising cost of health care.”
While this is not a full nullification of the Affordable Care Act, it’s a start. The law only appropriates funds for the exchanges if it is created by the state. If enough refuse, it will put much pressure on the federal government. This may cause the unconstitutional federal mandate to become unsustainable.
Gov. Daugaard continued by saying he will not be increasing fees, or taxes to fund the exchanges.
“The federal law requires exchanges to be self-sustaining by 2015, which means we would either have to charge a fee to South Dakota citizens using the exchange, or increase taxes, neither of which I am willing to do.”
Michael Maharrey, Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment Center, had this to say about states refusing to set up exchanges, “This is a good first step. The feds depend on state cooperation to make these huge programs work. If a large number of states refuse to set these exchanges up, it puts and increasing burden on the federal bureaucracy, one I’m not convinced they are really prepared to deal with. It will definitely gum up to works, and it sets the stage for more aggressive state action to block implementation of this unconstitutional act.”
If you are interested in learning more about state health care nullification, click here.
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