AUSTIN – Arlene Wohlgemuth, Director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, will testify on behalf of House Bill 3185 before the Federalism committee on Tuesday, April 10, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment in room E2.036 of the Texas State Capitol. The bill prohibits the establishment of a health insurance exchange.
"There is no benefit to the State of Texas in establishing or participating in the health insurance exchanges called for under ObamaCare, and state lawmakers should refuse to set up any kind of exchange, whether on its own or as part of a federal-state partnership," said Wohlgemuth. "Unfortunately, and despite claims to the contrary, whatever discretion and flexibility the federal government grants to states in crafting their exchanges is merely cosmetic. The insurance plans sold on the exchanges will be standardized according to rules set forth by Washington, D.C. that require them to provide a uniform set of coverage benefits.
"Because states have no meaningful role to play in the establishment or function of the ObamaCare exchanges, Texas lawmakers should steadfastly refuse to be deputized into implementing a federal policy that will increase health care costs for all Texans. Congress made ObamaCare the law of the land; now let the federal government implement that law without coercing state governments or draining state resources."
The Honorable Arlene Wohlgemuth is the executive director and director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She served 10 years in the Texas House of Representatives, specializing in health care issues.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin.
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