Obamacare starting in Indiana; bill set to introduce health care exchanges

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - This week Indiana's legislature began rolling out the future of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obama-care.

The first part of the program Federal Health Care law that needs to be created are the state healthcare exchanges.
    
These exchanges are supposed to be an entity by which people without health insurance can search programs to find insurance that benefits them and their families; and they are supposed to be set up by each state this year.
    
The federal government has given every state its own options: either set up the exchange through your state, let the federal government set one up for you or collaborate with the federal government to create one.
    
It appears Indiana has chosen the third option.
  
Wednesday the bill regarding the state run health exchanges passed out of a Indiana house committee.
    
That bill states that Indiana will allow the federal government to run the health exchange, but the state will regulate the insurance plans within it.
    
It sounds confusing, but the bill would ask that Indiana's Department of Insurance chose the plans and programs that the exchange can put out. That, lawmakers say will make sure folks that are in the Healthy Indiana Plan and the Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association don't lose their coverage until the new plans are in effect.
    
But some opponents say leaving power up to the federal government in any fashion means Indiana will not be able to fully control how these insurance programs are run.