An analyst says Iowans in small towns and in rural areas of less-populous counties may see particular benefits from today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the federal health care law. Jon Bailey, the research and analysis program director for the Center for Rural Affairs, says the ruling should help rural Americans who are uninsured or underinsured to get coverage under the law.
“We can go now about fully implementing it both at the federal and state level,” Bailey says. “Now, there’s some certainty that individuals and families and businesses can start to really think about their health care and what they need and what they need to purchase for the benefit of their family.”
Some states have held off launching the health insurance “marketplaces,” how people will buy health insurance in the coming years. The law mandates they be online by 2014. “Now, the states can start implementing that and really coming up with a system that works for people,” Bailey says.
“There’s a lot of issues there for rural people, particularly how you access the marketplaces and what kind of insurance products people are going to have a choice from.” Bailey says while the health care law is upheld for now, things could change as House Republicans are attempting to repeal it.
He says the November elections could change everything as well. The Center for Rural Affairs is based in Lyons, Nebraska.
By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton