Health law: Pa. says exchange unlikely to be ready in Jan. 2014; Miss. turning down Medicaid expansion money

In health law implementation news, Pennsylvania's insurance commissioner says a health insurance exchange likely won't be ready to rollout in January 2014, when the law says it should be ready. In Mississippi, leaders there are turning down the law's Medicaid expansion and the dollars that come with it.

The Associated Press: Pa. Health-Insurance Exchange Plan Stalls
A state-run health insurance exchange is unlikely to be ready for a scheduled January 2014 rollout, Pennsylvania's top insurance regulator said Wednesday. Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine said development of the online exchange -- a key element of the federal Affordable Care Act -- has stalled because too many questions about its cost and other operational details remain unanswered by the federal government (Jackson, 10/17).

The Associated Press: Miss. Says No Thanks To Medicaid Expansion Dollars
Mississippi has long been one of the sickest and poorest states in America, with some of the highest rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease and more than 1 in 7 residents without insurance. Leaders of the deeply conservative state say that even if Mississippi receives boatloads of cash under President Barack Obama's health care law, it can't afford the corresponding share of state money it will have to put up to add hundreds of thousands of people to the government health insurance program for the poor (10/17).