Malloy Applauds Supreme Court Decision; Conn. Moving Forward On Exchanges
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - One of the portions of the Affordable Care Act, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, calls for states to set up health insurance exchanges so people can buy plans.
LISTEN: Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy With WCBS 880's Michael Wallace
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In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie wants to hold off on that, just in case Mitt Romney is elected president in November and manages to get the health care reform law repealed.
But in Connecticut, they're moving forward on the exchanges.
The state has already received millions of dollars in federal funds to enact parts of the Affordable Care Act and is currently in the process of seeking more than $100 million to get the new insurance marketplace up and running.
Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy spoke to WCBS 880's Michael Wallace about the decision.
"Well, it's a great ruling," Malloy told Wallace. It's going to move our country in the direction of making sure that everyone has good health care. It's going to cut costs in the long run and, quite frankly, it's going to be good for our nation. It's going to create jobs and it's going to bring a lot of people into the system that have been outside hoping they could get in."
"What would you say to the critics who are afraid that this is going to hurt job creation, especially for small businesses in Connecticut?" Wallace asked.
"Well, it's not," answered Malloy. "There's not a small business out there that's not excited about shifting 40 percent of the cost of providing health care so that they can be more competitive. People certainly understand that there are jobs to be created within the health care industry, within the insurance industry, and certainly understand that, in the long run, this is good for our fellow Americans. Why would we want to have people without health care? Why would that be a pursuit of our national policy?"
"Do you have any estimates as to the lack of insurance, how many people lack it in Connecticut and what kind of an impact that has on the state?" asked Wallace.
"Well, if this decision had gone the other way, in 2014, up to 500,000 people who would would otherwise be covered or have access to coverage would not have had access to it," answered Malloy. "Now, we're three and a half million people. So, 500,000 people is a pretty big portion of our society."
"Now what does Connecticut have to do before the law takes full effect in 2014? What's on the agenda?" asked Wallace.
"Well, we're doing it. We never stopped. This was the law. It had not been struck and we did everything we needed to do to get our exchange up and running by January 2014, and we'll continue to do that now," Malloy said. "So, what we have to do is make sure that the citizenry that has to choose who will cover them, if it's not covered by their employer, have all of the tools necessary, have access to make the right choice to make sure that they're covered. I mean, let's think about this in real terms. What senior citizen says 'Oh no. I don't want to take the drugs or have access to the drugs that Medicare provide me.'? What person who has access to health care doesn't go to see a doctor earlier in the disease when it's more treatable than when it's not? The reality is in the long run, this will save the American people a lot of money."
What do you have to say about Malloy's stance and the Supreme Court's decision? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
