updated 1:23 p.m. from Gongwer News Service:
With the vote, House Speaker Jase Bolger (R-Marshall) issued a statement saying there will be no state-run exchange. Bolger spokesperson Ari Adler said it is "highly unlikely" the bill will be reconsidered.
The Affordable Care Act requires that states set up online "health insurance exchanges" by 2014 so consumers can shop for their insurance plans.
The exchanges are supposed to work like an Expedia or Travelocity for health insurance.
If states don't set one up, they'll be required to use a federal exchange.
Republicans in the Michigan legislature have resisted setting up a state-run exchange, hoping the Supreme Court or a Republican President would knock down the Affordable Care Act.
Neither of those things happened, but the resistance continues, as Chris Gautz of Crain's Detroit Business reports today:
The state House Health Policy Committee this morning voted down a bill that would have created a state-based health insurance exchange, with Republicans continuing their opposition. Rep. Gail Haines, R-Lake Angelus and chairwoman of the committee, voted yes on SB 693 — to audible groans from those packed into the hearing room. But the measure failed on a 9-5 vote, with two abstentions. A motion then was made to reconsider the vote, which Haines moved to pass for the day and then adjourned the meeting.
Gautz reports "It is unclear whether the House committee will take up the bill again."
