Jan. 24 — When asked to identify which health policy issues should top state legislative agendas this year, 55 percent of those surveyed by three organizations rank the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges as the highest priority.

According to the results of a survey released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health, the majority of both Republicans and Democrats polled agree that establishing the exchanges—a key element of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and one whose implementation has divided states along partisan political lines—should be a “top priority” for state governors and legislators.

So far, 18 states and the District of Columbia have declared that they will create their own state-based exchanges, seven other states have opted to establish exchanges in partnership with the federal government, and 25 others appear set to default to a federally-run exchange.

Fifty-two percent of those polled say their state should expand its Medicaid program, but views differed sharply by party affiliation: Two-thirds of Republicans who were polled indicated they preferred to keep their state Medicaid program as is, while three out of four Democrats polled favored state expansion. Independents were evenly divided.

Publication Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013