North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread said Congressional inaction on the Affordable Care Act is putting states like North Dakota in a difficult position.
Godfread said it appears Congress has put any “repeal and replace” efforts on Obamacare on the “back burner” – and he doubts anything will happen before the November election.
"That leaves it to the states to come up with some creative solutions on how we address our health care market," Godfread said.
Godfread said there are major challenges in health insurance.
"I've still got citizens that are hurting," Godfread said. "It's still tough to find health insurance."
Godfread said given Congressional inaction, he has to do something.
"We have to look at what we can do in our state to help provide relief, and work with the framework we have been provided," Godfread said. He hopes to have some proposals for the Legislature to consider in the 2019 session.
Godfread also said he expects to have a package of bills for the 2019 Legislature concerning some updates on how insurance is regulated in North Dakota.
"A lot of the laws we have on the books are from the '80s and '90s," Godfread said. "The world is a lot different."
Godfread said the way the companies provide product, and the ways customers interact with the companies, is changing.
"We need to make sure we're updating our regulations and our laws to reflect that," Godfread said.
