The good folks at Crain’s Health Pulse picked up on an interesting story this morning.  As you all know, New York hasn’t passed its Exchange bill yet because the State Senate chose not to vote on it during the last session and has not yet felt the need to revisit it.

Well, turns out that Rhode Island had something similar going on in their legislature. But, can you guess what their governor did?

He went ahead and issued an Executive Order to establish a Rhode Island Exchange.

A bold move indeed and, according to Crain’s, one that has not gone unnoticed by Members of the Medicaid Redesign Team’s streamlining workgroup. Some have even suggested that our very own governor might want to consider something similar should the State Senate continue to refuse to act.

It remains to be seen whether Governor Cuomo will decide to step up, Rhode Island style.  But, there is a possibility that a federal Exchange may not be New York’s only option if the Senate continues to sit on the bill.

Our State Senators may be willing to toss away their chance to have any say on the matter, but that doesn’t mean New Yorkers have to.

Just a little food for thought…