FreedomWorks Applauds Utah Governor for Resisting Federally Approved Health Care Exchanges

Washington, DC- Following news that Utah Governor Gary Herbert walked away from negotiations with the Obama Administration to create a federally approved health care exchange in the state, FreedomWorks Vice President of Health Care Policy Dean Clancy issued the following statement:

“Governor Herbert’s resistance to a federally-approved health care exchange in Utah is a silent protest of the unconstitutional federal law, and he should be applauded for it. Governor Herbert made the right choice – to join the majority of states who are standing against the federal takeover of their health care. If enough states refuse to create their own health care exchange, we may be able to dismantle ObamaCare even with President Obama in office.”

Governor Herbert’s resistance follows the Obama Administration’s decision in January to indefinitely extend the deadline for states to adopt health care exchanges, an admission of defeat for the White House and further evidence for the lackluster enthusiasm surrounding the President’s unconstitutional health care law.

Health care exchanges are the bureaucratic mechanism for operating ObamaCare in the states, and the distribution point for the billions of dollars in premium subsidies to insurance companies which will supposedly help people afford insurance. Although states can choose to run their own exchanges, the federal government retains ultimate control over all major decisions, while the states have to bear the costs.  

Clancy explained, “It’s crucial for grassroots activists to urge their Governors to block the health care exchanges, because the ‘Unaffordable Care Act’ as written does not allow the insurance subsidies that are crucial to ObamaCare to be distributed through a federally created exchange. In order to prevent a train wreck, Congress is going to have to reopen the health care law, and that gives us a chance to delay and dismantle it and start over with real, patient-centered reforms.”

“About twenty-eight states have taken the first step in making that happen by refusing to set up state exchanges, and our activists across the country plan to remain vigilant and to keep the pressure on their Governors to stand their ground.”

FreedomWorks is a grassroots service center to a community of over 2 million activists dedicated to advancing the ideas of individual liberty and constitutionally-limited government. For more information on FreedomWorks’ health care position, please visit www.BlockExchanges.com  or contact Jackie Bodnar at Jbodnar@FreedomWorks.org.