Arizona must set up health care exchange before Washington does

There’s a feeling among some in the state Legislature that putting the wheels in motion to establish a health care exchange, as called for by the Affordable Care Act, is somehow tantamount to endorsing the federal health care plan.

But as this Wall Street Journal editorial makes clear, “A posture of indifference is tempting, but it also means an all but certain death warrant for businesses and jobs when HHS eventually takes over.”

That’s because if the states don’t design a health care exchange on their own, then the federal government will do it for them.

Arizona can’t afford to have the Obama administration design a health care exchange from Washington, D.C. If we leave it to the feds, we risk be saddled with an exchange that is bad news for insurers, employers and the insured.

Arizona lawmakers and the health care community should work closely to design a health care exchange. An Arizona-designed health care exchange isn’t an endorsement a federal health care system; it’s recognition that we know better how to design a system for our state than Washington bureaucrats.