May 30, 2012 10:43AM 

# Blocking Obamacare Exchanges Is Only Risky for Obamacare Profiteers 

By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) 

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*USA Today* [reports](http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-05-29/health-insurance-exchanges/55267456/1) that groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council and the Cato Institute have had much success in discouraging states from creating Obamacare’s health insurance “exchanges.” Even the Heritage Foundation, which [once counseled](http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2011/03/A-State-Lawmakers-Guide-to-Health-Insurance-Exchanges) states to establish “defensive” Obamacare exchanges, now [counsels](https://www.cato.org/heritage-scholar-urges-states-dont-implement-obamacare-exchanges-send-back-grants/) states to refuse to create them and to send all exchange-related grants back to Washington.

In response, [Obamacare contractor](https://www.cato.org/republicans-getting-rich-off-obamacare/) and self-described conservative Republican Cheryl Smith sniffs:

> When you work at a think-tank, it’s really easy to come up with these really high-risk plans.

Except, there is [no](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=14078) [risk](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/no-obamacare-exchanges) [to](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/another-obamacare-glitch) [states](https://www.cato.org/will-states-lose-medicaid-funds-if-they-fail-to-create-an-obamacare-%e2%80%98exchange%e2%80%99/). The only risks to this strategy are that health insurance companies won’t get half a trillion dollars in taxpayer subsidies, and that certain Obamacare contractors won’t get any more of those [lucrative](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57852.html) exchange contracts.

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) 

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