we've been doing business here with highmark with over 75 years.the people of our part of the country, and these plans were meeting people's needs and i think my concern is that we deal quickly, promptly with the situation so that there are options for people who have lost their coverage who starting january 1st, especially if they have serious health conditions would not have health care coverage and that's just a situation that i think is not acceptable. >> to wrap it up here, looking at numbers, delaware, federal state with a federal plan, healthercare.gov, not a state exchange, 126 people have signed up with you through delaware. 126. >> yes. it's a very low number. very disappointing, obviously. if you look at the state of pennsylvania, there are more. we have approximately a couple thousand individuals but, again, the numbers are very small. i think we know that from what the report that was released yesterday. and the website -- they are still working on. so it's really -- it's a bit of a mess, right. and we're working to address the situati

is it better to continue with my regular insurance highmark or go to the government site?"ow do you answer that, tom? >> every individual has a separate circumstance, and there's no true single answer that's best for any person across the country. the fact is, health insurance is complicated and ever more complicated today than 15 years ago, so you have to go through a complicated process, regardless of a individual, small business, large business. whether you're self insured or fully insured, you have to go through the process to figure that out. >> what's the benefit of me getting insurance through one of the exchanges, versus telling my employees, okay, you can go to the exchange individually? >> starting january 1st, it is law due to the aca every individual in america has to purchase insurance, so whether you get it through your employer, which in the past most people have gotten their insurance through employers, or now, where people can go out and buy guaranteed individual coverage through the exchange and they are looking at getting subsidies. so a lot of people wil

. >> bill, highmark health. can you envision your party, the republican party, coming forward with an alternative to the affordable care act that incorporates many of the provisions, the popular provisions, provisions people think work that could be a viable solution to some of the problems that seem to be in the rising with the law? >> yes, so we believe -- >> this year. >> so, well -- this year, tack that at the end there. many of us are working on alternatives, but it's literally a function of running numbers. i don't think this year big reforms will be ready yet and that's just a logistical point. the republican study committee has a bill for a complete obama care replacement that's been released that has 100 co-sponsors already. tom coburn and i, back in 2009, 2010, had complete alternative patient-center reforms that we offered when obama care was being deliberated, so before, during, and after obama care, was deliberated and passed, we put out very comprehensive patient-centered market-based plans and i d