North Dakota Won't Set up its Own Health Insurance Exchange - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

North Dakota Won't Set up its Own Health Insurance Exchange

States have an extra month to meet the health exchange deadline for the Affordable Care Act.

But it appears North Dakota has already chosen the direction it will take.

North Dakota's Health and Human Services Director says the state will not set up its own exchange.

That means the federal government will likely run the program.

The exchanges would offer subsidized health insurance plans for individuals and small businesses.

Federal Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Sebelius sent out a letter yesterday that says states now have until December 14th to decide if they'll operate their own exchanges.

The deadline was supposed to be midnight, but the Obama Administration extended the deadline at the request of governors.

States also have the option to partner with the federal government or have a federally operated exchange.

The extension is seen as an olive branch to states that delayed complying with the act--waiting to see if President Obama would be re-elected--before acting.

Governor Dalrymple says the state could run its own exchange later, after it's established.

But he says now there are too many questions about how a state exchange would be run and how much it would cost.