Times-News editorial:  Two months ago, state legislators by and large declared health insurance exchanges would become the big issue of this session.

Now, as a bill on the matter finally emerges, the question becomes how the Legislature will treat this issue in an already-shrill election year: politically, or in the practical way it deserves?

For several months, Rep. Fred Wood, R-Burley, and Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, have worked on legislation that would establish a state-operated health insurance exchange, one of the provisions of the federal health care reforms dubbed “Obamacare.”