Health Exchange Deadline | Video

Jessica Roose | 12/14/2012

As today`s deadline passes it looks like North Dakota will not be setting up a state run exchange under the Affordable Care Act. In a 2011 special session, legislators did not pass a bill which would have created a state run health exchange. Since then, there has been no attempt to bring the issue back up. With another deadline passing, it`s becoming clear that North Dakota will join the growing majority of the country in letting the Federal Government run the exchange.

"The cost to run it on an ongoing basis could be as much as $10 million dollars a year. In the end we would not be allowed to do anything different than what the Federal Government itself would do, in terms of establishing an exchange. So there really is not much point," said Governor Jack Dalrymple.

The state insurance commissioner reissued a statement saying he agrees with the decision not to set one up and the federal government needs to prove they can make the exchanges work. So far, 25 states have opted out of running state-based exchanges. Nineteen have decided to set them up and seven states want to run a joint exchange with the Federal Government.

"Really now there`s nothing to decide until the legislature comes back. If they change their minds or they don`t want to do something different than having a federally run exchange. They would still have that option until February 14th," Dalrymple said.

That`s the deadline for the state to decide if it would like to operate a joint exchange with the Federal Government.

The only state in the midwest that has decided to set up a state-based exchange is Minnesota.

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