The state of Vermont is telling a U.S. House panel it has every right to set up a state health insurance exchange and require individuals and small businesses to purchase their health coverage through it.
State officials wrote to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to rebut a charge from Republican members of that committee that a mandatory exchange violates the Affordable Care Act.
The committee points to language in the health overhaul law saying it won't require people to get their health care through an exchange.
Vermont officials are arguing that states are still free to impose that requirement.
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