PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Gov. Dennis Daugaard says South Dakota will not set up its own health insurance exchange, but instead will let the federal government run the exchange required by the federal health care overhaul.
President Obama's health care law requires all states to have exchanges, which are online marketplaces for patients and small businesses to shop for insurance policies. Daugaard says South Dakota will join other states that have decided not to run their own exchanges.
The governor says annual operating costs for a state-operated exchange would run between $6.3 million and $7.7 million. He says he does not want to raise taxes or charge a fee to people using the exchange.
Daugaard says he wants the federal law repealed, but South Dakota in any event will maintain control of insurance regulation.
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