Gov. Tate Reeves still has not decided whether he will sign off on creating a state-run exchange to offer health insurance for Mississippians.
“The governor and his staff continue to research the idea to determine if it is in the best interest of this state,” Shelby Wilcher, a spokesperson for Reeves, said in a statement.
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has said he believes federal officials, who must approve a state-based exchange, would want a letter from the governor before signing off on the endeavor.
“We probably could operate the exchange, but I don’t think it is wise to do it without having the governor on board or at least having some of his approval to operate the exchange,” Chaney said in June on Mississippi Today’s “The Other Side” podcast. “… It is the governor’s call whether we will have a state-based exchange. We have done all the other hoops we have to jump through.”
A 2013 official opinion for the Mississippi Attorney General’s office indicated that under state law the insurance commissioner would have the authority to operate an exchange if approved by the Legislature. But the AG said it could not opine on federal law or on whether Chaney would have authority under federal law.