I dont remember voting on whether to turn down a health care exchange.

Nor can I recall anyone canvassing neighborhoods, polling passersby or otherwise soliciting input about whether Indiana residents want to buy into the federal health care exchange.

Indiana taxpayers will still foot part of the bill for the national health care exchange that will provide individuals and small businesses a place to shop online for relatively more affordable health coverage. However, Gov. Mike Pence has said he does not want to institute a health care exchange in Indiana.

Pence said in a letter to Former Gov. Mitch Daniels that the health care reform as a whole erodes the freedom of every American, opening the door for the federal government to legislate, regulate and mandate nearly every aspect of our daily lives under the guise of its taxing power.

That must be easier to say when your own family can afford coverage than it would be if you had a severely ill family member and no insurance.

Lawmakers have a duty to represent their residents, so on issues as pervasive and potentially life-changing as expanding the national health care system, elected officials should make sure their actions reflect their publics desires. The state should give residents more opportunity for input, and residents should step up to offer their thoughts on the health care exchange.

Though, for a majority of college students, the most relevant part of the Affordable Care Act allowing young adults to remain on their parents health care plan until age 26 already has taken effect, the majority of state lawmakers hesitate to support further action.

Indiana officials have told the federal government they want more information, specifically information on long-term costs, about the plan. Though its good that our state is exercising caution, time is running out and this decision will prevent the Affordable Care Act from benefiting several hundred thousand Indiana residents.

Regardless, Pence said in the same letter, there is no evidence that this investment (into a health care exchange) will improve the lives of Hoosiers.

Pence cites the existing Healthy Indiana Plan, a state-sponsored, income-based program funded by cigarette taxes that charges enrollees a nominal fee for full health benefits, as a reason to reject the exchange. However, the Healthy Indiana Plan accepts few childless adults and has a waiting list that spans several years. According to a report by Indianapolis-based WRTV, within the last few years, that waiting list has included tens of thousands of names at a time.

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Gambling on health care exchange could pay off for residents