House endorses bill to freeze state exchange plans

LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Asa Hutchinson is expected to sign a bill that would halt Arkansas' plan to set up its own insurance exchange under the federal health law until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a lawsuit about subsidies.

House members voted 74-11 Wednesday to advance the bill. A Hutchinson spokesman previously said the governor would sign it.

The measure was approved in the Senate last week on the same day the nation's highest court heard arguments in a lawsuit centering on the federal subsidies granted by the overhaul.

The bill would require the Legislature to vote on whether to set up a state exchange if justices decide only residents of states that set up their own insurance markets can receive subsidies to help pay their premiums.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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