Health insurance companies are also among those reacting to today’s decision from the U.S. Supreme Court upholding a majority of the federal health care law.
Blue Cross of Idaho is the largest private insurer in the state, covering 720,000 people in Idaho. Karen Early is a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit company. She says now that most of the Affordable Care Act has been upheld, it’s time for Idaho to create its own insurance exchange.
“I think Idahoans in general, prefer to do things on a state level, rather than have the federal government come in," Early says. "So our position at Blue Cross of Idaho is that we really are looking forward to the opportunity to work on a state-based exchange and not use a federal one.”
However, the Idaho Legislature rejected its opportunity to create a state-run exchange during the last session.
Early says Blue Cross research shows that under the Affordable Care Act, some insurance costs in Idaho will go up, especially for younger, healthier patients.
“We can provide a limited benefit product for as low as $50 or $60 for a young adult at this time," says Early. "In the future, that is probably going to rise to $250, that will be about the least we’ll be able to offer it for because of the way the rates are structured and because of the benefit packages that are going to be required.”
