We all know Walker’s not a fan of the health reform law. But pretty much every group that will be affected by it ? including his strong ally Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce ? was telling him that if the law is to be a reality, let’s at least pick the kind of exchange we want by designing it ourselves.
….Granted, Walker?s primary argument against the state setting up the exchange would be good if it were true. He thinks that because federal money to help states set up their own exchanges will dry up ? it?s allocated only through 2014 ? those states will end up having to flip the bill for a service that years from now (presumably) has become established and popular. But Donna Friedsam, a UW-Madison health policy researcher and expert on the new law, said the exchanges ? no matter who runs them ? have to be self-sufficient by Jan. 1, 2015. “There is no bait-and-switch plan by the federal government here,” she said.