Republican Rep. Elaine Harvey of Big Horn and Park Counties says she was sure the Supreme Court would deny the constitutionality of the individual mandate requiring people to buy insurance, but was surprised to learn that the Court upheld the mandate by calling it a tax, which Congress is allowed to levy.
Harvey says she supports setting up a healthcare exchange in the state – that’s an online market place where residents can shop around for competitive insurance plans – as the Affordable Care Act requires… but because the Legislature has put off developing one until after the Supreme Court ruling, Harvey says there’s no way Wyoming will be able to create one before the federal government sets one up in the state on January 1.
“I have a hard time accepting that one. I don’t think that the federal government should be in charge of our exchange.”
Harvey says she hopes to work with other lawmakers this fall to develop an interstate compact that will share resources and options among several states, and that it could start serving Wyoming in the near future.
