Indiana awaits ruling before starting health exchange - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Indiana has spent the past year and a half planning for a health insurance exchange but could still come under federal control if the Supreme Court upholds the health care law.

Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered state agencies to investigate the cost and feasibility of an exchange in January 2011 but told them to keep it in the planning stages. The high court is expected to rule Thursday on the law.

Daniels lost a prior battle with President Barack Obama's administration when it rejected Indiana's request to expand the state's health savings account plan to cover more Medicaid recipients. Federal officials said last September that request was premature.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration reports that 850,000 Hoosiers are uninsured. That's about 13 percent of the state population.

WHERE THE STATE STANDS: Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels ordered state agencies to build a framework for a possible exchange, but he has not implemented one pending the Supreme Court ruling. Indiana also has pushed to use its health savings account to help cover an estimated 500,000 who will become eligible for Medicaid in 2014 under the federal health care overhaul, but federal officials denied the request in September, saying it was premature.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW: Although Indiana has planned for its own insurance exchange, it still could be forced into the federal one if the court upholds the law. Indiana hasn't enacted a law creating its own exchange and Daniels told the agencies to keep their work in the planning stages. State officials haven't said what they might do to address health coverage if the law is struck down.

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