Don't miss health-reform funds

In the hectic final days of the recent legislative session in Albany, the bill to establish a health insurance exchange for New York never came to a vote in the Senate. That needs to be corrected.

The exchanges are meant to be state-based competitive marketplaces where small businesses and individuals can compare and buy private insurance policies.

The bill reportedly died because Republican senators who opposed both same-sex marriage and President Barack Obama's health care law simply refused to give in on both, a silly bit of political emotionalism. New York must have an exchange to be eligible for a significant pot of federal money, on top of the two grants totaling $28 million it has received already.

Creating our own exchange is a move that, regardless of what happens to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in the courts, makes sense for New York. If reform is struck down in the courts, the state loses nothing by having created its own exchange. If reform survives, having our plan in place will be crucial.

Many states are behind schedule in creating exchanges, and Obama recently backed away from a drop-dead date of January 2013 for the funding. Even so, quick action will get New York more money and time to set up its exchange properly.

If it doesn't do so, the state will be saddled with the federal one-size-fits-all option. New York, with its unique and enormous health care challenges, definitely can't afford that.