A look at the federal health care law in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa

WISCONSIN

526,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 9 percent.

Wisconsin has not begun setting up its health insurance exchange. Work on that was put on hold in January by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who wanted to await the Supreme Court’s decision.

Walker said that regardless of the Supreme Court’s ruling, Wisconsin will not move forward with implementation until after the November elections. Walker hopes opponents of the health care law will win the presidency and take control of Congress and repeal it. If the law is struck down entirely, Democrats want to pursue putting key parts of it in place in Wisconsin, while Republicans and Walker have been less specific about what initiatives they would pursue.

MINNESOTA

509,000 state residents are uninsured, or about 9.8 percent.

Minnesota has embraced the health care overhaul more than many states. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton used a provision in the federal law to extend Medicaid coverage to more than 80,000 vulnerable adults as soon as he took office in 2011. His administration has focused on developing an online health insurance marketplace envisioned as a key part of the law, securing $28.4 million from the federal government for Minnesota’s planning efforts.

Top administration officials aren’t saying how they would maintain coverage of those vulnerable adults if the federal support goes away. Any new state spending would need the help of Republicans, which appears unlikely. One top GOP lawmaker on health care issues says an overturned law would allow the state to pursue a more market-oriented approach.

IOWA

366,000 Iowa residents are uninsured, or about 12 percent.

The state does not have a law establishing an online health insurance exchange, but Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has said Iowa would create a state-based exchange if the law were upheld. The Republican House Majority leader says the state already has enacted several pieces of the health care law, including a website that helps Iowans find insurance, but the state has yet to comply with other federal requirements.

The Iowa Department and Health and Human Services the state Insurance Division have been planning for an insurance exchange in case the law is upheld. Democrats who control the Senate say they will push for such an exchange even if the law is rejected, but the plan would likely face opposition from Branstad and the Republican-controlled Iowa House. House Majority Leader Linda Upmeyer says the state agencies will continue to prepare Iowa until lawmakers reconvene in January. But some Senate Democrats say a special legislative session may be required.