After waiting until the last minute to announce it, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said it would let the federal government set up a health insurance exchange in his state.
It may not be such a surprising move since Gov. Christie vetoed a bill for the state to create an exchange on its own in December. At the time he said it was due to the lack of clarity for how much it would cost taxpayers to set up and how that would compare with the alternatives.
Pennsylvania also rejected setting up its own health insurance exchange, and will let the federal government provide one.
The health insurance exchanges are meant to provide a way for the uninsured in each state to get health insurance through a provision of the Affordable Care Act. It is designed to provide a more competitive market for uninsured people to buy insurance. The Act calls for states to either set up their own exchanges or agree to let the federal government set one up for them. They are scheduled to be open for enrollment in October and the insurance is to go into effect January 1, 2014.
