There are now 17 Republican governors who have declined the honor of forming state insurance exchanges to comply with Obamacare rules. The latest three — Kasich of Ohio, Walker of Wisconsin, and LePage of Maine — all realize that their protest is largely symbolic because the federal government will now form the exchanges for them.
In fact, some of the governors will be forming partnerships with the Department of Health and Human Services to run the exchanges.
“Operating a state exchange would not provide the flexibility to meet our state’s unique needs or to protect our state’s taxpayers,” Walker said in a statement.
Kasich’s decision drew quick praise from House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio). “I’m proud of my governor … for taking a stand and resisting the federal takeover of healthcare in Ohio,” said Boehner, who just last week seemed ready to soften the GOP campaign against the law, pronouncing, “Obamacare is the law of the land.”
Exchanges are designed to allow Americans who don’t get coverage through work to go online to shop for health insurance, like shopping for plane tickets. The insurance will have to meet new minimum standards
States were supposed to open exchanges next fall so people could get insurance starting in January 2014. Ultimately, about 25 million Americans are expected to get insurance on an exchange, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Most people probably won’t notice a significant difference if their exchange is operated by state or federal officials. But the decision over state exchanges has become a new flash point in the partisan battle over the health law.
States that plan to run their own exchanges are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. All but four have Democratic governors. Several other states, including Illinois, are planning to operate theirs in partnership with the federal government.
Those deferring completely to the federal government are Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. All but one have GOP governors.
The insurance exchanges will come into existence no matter what. More problematic is the vast expansion of Medicaid that will grant coverage to Americans whose income is as much as 133% over the poverty line ($14,456).
A list of grave problems that will confront states was contained in a letter to the president from GOP governors who have been meeting this week in Las Vegas:
It is clear that putting in place the new programs you championed will be an enormous strain on state governments and budgets, as well as the federal government. From the financial obligations and complex technicalities to ensuring the healthcare workforce and infrastructure will be in place to meet the new demand, the timeframe and many of the provisions in the PPACA are simply unworkable.
A great, big, modern, industrialized state is about to radically overturn its entire health care sector and put in its place…what? Nobody knows. However, it is safe to say that these massive changes will bring total chaos. Millions of people will be overloading the system demanding their “free” health care. The shortage of doctors will mean extended waits for treatment for all but the most dire emergencies. And without massive financial assistance from the federal government, how are states going to fund insurance for their new dependents while paying for schools, roads, police, fire, and everything else they are already responsible for?
The fact that none of this was thought through before Obamacare was passed and that when 2014 rolls around, nobody is going to be ready for the radical changes wrought by the bill, shows the folly engaged in by proponents of Obamacare for ramming it down our throats.
SHOULD BE REQUIRED VIEWING:
Rush Limbaugh “The True Meaning of Thanksgiving”
http://commoncts.blogspot.com/2012/11/rush-limbaugh-true-meaning-of.html
“Obamacare is the law of the land”
And it is a terrible, destructive, and fundamentally unjust law. Slavery, segregation, and a host of other evils were once the law of the land too. Civil disobedience, not compliance, is called for when dealing with unjust laws. I will never vote for a candidate who supports Obamacare. Never. If the RINO establishment wants to choose to embrace it now they better be ready to become a well deserved permanent minority party. Nobody wants tyranny-lite. They either want full-on tyranny or freedom. They should be doing everything possible to sabotage Obamacare and minimize its deleterious effects.
If the exchanges are going to be set up anyway, where’s the resistance?
Where are the Occupy Wall Street public defecators when we need them?
The resistance lies in not accommodating the Dems, making them own their mess, and not giving them political cover for creating it.
You know, like how Romney should have handled healthcare reform in Mass. if he was going to be a fit Republican candidate for President.
Oh, wait…
But Ann Coulter says it’s not his fault. (And by implication not her fault, how convenient.)
Look for the political party landscape in many states to change beginning in 2014 and 2016. I’m betting that the democrat apparatus of the states and the DNC are already hard at work while the GOP and RNC apparatus are on vacation in the bahams discussing how to stop the bleeding from 2012.
Just like all other landmark social legislation of the past, there is a partisan rumble for a while then all will fall in line. Anti ObamaCare is already falling in the polls. Then there are just enough popular bennies thus far, that a majority will suck up to rather fast. A majority support will rise over time across both party lines. Of course there will be some tweeking for a long time but still a big majority will come to accept ObamaCare — including the party political hacks who have led the charge of anti-ObamaCare.
Remember, only a very small handfull in congress hav to date really read or understand the entire piece of legislation. They punted it to HHS to blueprint and develop all the policy and procedures as they wish. Just another case where congress passes to the executive branch their own constitutional mandated functions. For sometime now the executive sets policy for legislation rather than managing policy legislation from congress.
Regardless of the current economic and debt crisis, ObamaCare is here to stay as the GOP once more failed to sell their opposition.
Of course they resist it. Its bad business. Good for consumers, bad for business. Who wants that?
Having health insurance and having access to quality health care are not one in the same.
I agree, Becky. Look at the differences between public and private care in the UK. I get my care through the VA. No choice, really, I’m a totally and permanently disabled veteran. We already have rationing in the VA system. Most VA hospitals are in bad physical shape, at least the ones I’ve seen. A few newer ones are okay, but most are old, worn out and shabby. The care is also indifferent and not at all up to “civilian” standards. There are some good doctors and nurses but they are few and far between. An example: I had a bit of a cold bug and got Bell’s Palsy. The VA refused to treat it, saying it would either go away on its own in a year or else I’d just have to learn to live with it and tape up my droopy eyelid. I went to urgent care downtown, paid $30 for the visit, got the necessary steroids and antiviral drugs (another $65) which are the preferred treatment for palsy I found out, and I was perfectly cured in about a week. I filed a standards of care complaint against the doctors who refused to treat me, but nothing happened with it and a veteran cannot sue the VA.
Welcome to Obamacare, people. Socialized medicine hasn’t worked anywhere else for a nation even close to the size of the USA. Oh, and I still haven’t gotten a card saying that my VA care is sufficient to stop Obamacare from fining me and withholding some of my VA pension to pay for “credible” insurance.
The VA should be voucherized,
It always has been. The voucher is ones DD214. -smile-
Now, we’ve got active duty, reserves and national guard and many dependents thrown in. That was never the original legislative intent for the VA Medical System! Able bodies vets who have jobs and retiress with TRICARE (except for MOHs, service connected disabilities and destitute vets) should NOT be allowed to be a part of the VA medical system. I could see a “temporary” voucher program during times of insurance transition periods say from an employer program to one of the government programs under the new ObamaCare if such instances were even a possibility.
What the L A Times leaves out, and every “jounalistic” piece as well, is that the states who decide to go ahead and set up an exchange on their own right now, do so at their own expense. The Feds are trying to claim that states setting up this will “streamline” the process for themselves when in fact, the Feds don’t have the money and are just running a scam here. If they want everyone to have their precious healthcare, then these state exchanges will happen, being paid for by the Fed Gov. All of this is nothing more than US Gov attempting to scam these exchanges off onto the states’ expense. Just because the wolf is at the door, doesn’t mean you have to present your throat.