Statement from Governor Chafee Regarding the Complaint Filed Today in Superior Court

This lawsuit was not unexpected, and the Lt. Governor and I remain confident in our legal position and comfortable with the path we have taken to establish Rhode Island’s Health Benefits Exchange. Without our action to establish this exchange, Rhode Island would have missed out on more than $58 million in funding and would have, instead, had a one-size-fits-all, generic system imposed on it by the Federal Government.

Now, however, Rhode Island is leading the nation in its exchange implementation, having just received over $58 million in level II funding. The complaint filed today jeopardizes this important funding and threatens our state’s ability to develop a unique system that is custom-made for Rhode Island and fits the unique needs of the people of our state. The ultimate goal of this process is to provide access to affordable, high-quality healthcare to all Rhode Islanders – and I am pleased to say that we are on our way to achieving that goal.