SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) A South Dakota insurance expert says Obamacare had unintended consequences and whatever comes next will too if Congress isn't careful.
Deb Mueller with Avera Health Plans in Sioux Falls tells Kelo Radio's It's Your Business Show that, for example, if lawmakers want pre-existing conditions to be covered, then federal money would be needed to help defray the extra risk.
"We need federal resources to be able to help us and a lot of resources, which means money, to be able to continue to help us take care of everyone," says Mueller.
She says the South Dakotans helped under Obamacare are really only a small percentage of the insurance market in the state - most get their insurance through employers or in other ways. Still, the subsidies to help the low income insured are an issue that will need to be addressed by Congress.
Whatever Congress comes up with, if anything, Mueller would prefer more local and state control .
"Healthcare and health insurance is a local matter. That's why a federal solution has been difficult to achieve, because not all states are the same....," explains Mueller.
Avera Health Plans and Sanford Health Plans are the only two insurers issuing policies under the Affordable Care Act in South Dakota.
The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate has been twisting in the wind trying to find votes for repealing and replacing Obamacare simultaneously or repealing and replacing later.
