Countdown to Repeal: Gov. Mitch Daniels Explains Obamacare’s Impact on Indiana

Rob Bluey / January 14, 2011

As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on repealing Obamacare next week, several governors have emerged as the law’s leading critics. Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-IN) is one of them.

“There’s obviously real sentiment in the country for repealing this bill — for the colossal mistake that it was,” Daniels said in an exclusive interview with The Heritage Foundation.

Daniels sat down with Heritage last year to explain the challenges facing Indiana as a result of Obamacare. Chief among them: the likely demise of the Healthy Indiana Plan, a program that provides health insurance to 50,000 low-income residents of Indiana. That alone could cost the state up to $3.9 billion over the next decade.

More than 20 states, including Indiana, are challenging the law in court. But while that plays out before a federal judge, Daniels and other state chief executives are grappling with the consequences of Obamacare. Those challenges are a big reason the House put repeal at the top of its agenda for the 112th Congress.