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Mo. Senate committee holds public hearing on insurance exchanges

Flickr/Jennifer_Borriss

A Senate committee was hearing from Missouri residents today about health insurance exchanges.

Every state is required by the year 2014 to set up an online exchange where customers can buy health coverage.  States that fail to do so will have one created for them by the federal government, as part of the Affordable Care Act.

State Senator Joseph Keaveny of St. Louis city is a member of the committee.

“Unfortunately we’ve allowed this discussion to be whether we should have an insurance exchange or not," Keaveny said.  "The question should be, do we want the federal government to set it up, or do we want the state to set it up? And overwhelmingly in my district, we want the state to set it up?”

Keaveny says he favors an exchange where small businesses and individuals can go to shop insurance rates.

Some Missouri lawmakers have recently sponsored bills to create a state-run exchange, but all have failed to pass.