In his column this week in The Journal Record, law professor Andrew Spiropoulos defends Gov. Mary Fallin’s decision to take a pass on building a state health care insurance exchange. Spiropoulos, who serves as the Milton Friedman Distinguished Fellow at OCPA, says

the president and his minions have made it clear that, contrary to their own political interests, they do not intend to permit the existence of insurance models that differ from theirs. They have told states with different coverage models, including Oklahoma, that, no matter how successful, their insurance markets must be altered to adhere to the federal model. While there have been recent vague statements attempting to soften the harsh federal rhetoric, it is clear that no meaningful waivers will be forthcoming.

Second, a close reading of the mammoth health care bill has revealed a potentially fatal flaw. The bill states that both federal insurance subsidies and the penalties on businesses that pay for them cannot be implemented in a state that does not build its own exchange. If the courts confirm this reading, and enough states refuse to build an exchange, the president’s scheme will likely suffer a mortal wound.

So do we spend months, if not years, and millions of dollars building a model we are confident the federal government won’t permit or do we take our best chance to cripple the scheme we know will have a negative outcome?

We encourage you to read the entire column here.