A deadline is looming for Georgia over a major component of the Affordable Care Act.  Gov. Nathan Deal has until Friday to let the federal government know if the state will create its own health exchange or default to a federal one.

While Deal is not divulging his plans, he has indicated Georgia will not create its own insurance market place program.

“Unless there’s some further indication that we will be given flexibility, which was what we thought we would have when the legislation first was passed but has eroded away over the year,” he tells WSB’s Sandra Parrish.

States have until January 1 to have an operable exchange.  Deal would have to present an outline of the plan to the federal government by the end of this week if Georgia were to create its own.

The exchange would create a market place of insurance companies were the uninsured could shop for the best prices and coverage.

Deal even created an advisory committee last year to offer recommendations on how to implement an exchange.  But he says the state stopped planning the program after federal regulations were written that he claims would restrict Georgia’s ability to design its own program.