A key element to access to health insurance created in the Affordable Care Act is the insurance exchanges states are supposed to set up, with funding from the federal goverment, to create sort of a marketplace for insurance companies. So just to make sure this is clear: The federal government is paying states to set up marketplaces where private insurance companies compete for customers.
Gee, sounds like socialism. Whatever it is, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) hates it, and has been lobbying states to refuse to set up exchanges.
"Over the last eight to 10 months, we've seen a huge change in course," said Christy Herrera, health task force director of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). "Before the deadline, states have the time to carefully deliberate. … They shouldn't be pressured." [...]
Ten states have delayed acting on exchanges because of the groups' influence, according to ALEC.
They're pressuring states, they say, because without these exchanges, the government will be unable to implement the law. Which is incorrect, because the law stipulates that if states don't comply, the federal government will just set up the exchanges for them. And, should the law be upheld by the Supreme Court and implemented, the states that don't set up their own exchanges actually lose an element of control over them.
ALEC obviously isn't looking out for the best interests of states, or they wouldn't have picked this issue. This is purely far-right politics, keeping the opposition to Obamacare, and Obama, ginned up.