The fight over health care: Still political?

Like it or not, President Obama won a second term, and his health care law is here to stay. The Affordable Care Act was one of the biggest matters of debate during the election, but now that there's no chance of repealing it, state and federal governments have to get to work implementing it.

Yesterday, however, facing Republican complaints, the Obama administration for the second time pushed back a key deadline states face as they begin to build a new health care infrastructure.

State leaders now have one more month to decide whether to build their own health care exchange system -- an online marketplace where consumers can choose from a variety of competing private insurance plans. If they don't want to build their own, states can instead leave it up to the federal government to run their state-based system, or enter into a partnership with the federal government. The exchanges are supposed to be up and running by 2014 and are a core part of the 2010 law -- according to nonpartisan projections, starting in 2016, between 23 million and 25 million people will receive health care coverage through the exchanges.

• HHS pushes back state health reform deadline

Ahead of the election, a number of Republican-led states stalled work on the exchanges, in the hopes that a Romney administration would roll back the new requirement. But with little time left to make a decision, GOP leaders are beginning to begrudgingly choose a path forward. As of Friday afternoon, according to a tally by the Associated Press, just 11 states have yet to say whether they'll set up their own or leave it to the feds -- all but one of those states have Republican governors.

These states have found themselves "behind the proverbial eight ball," as Prof. Jay Himmelstein put it, in part because of politics and in part because of legitimate concerns.

"I think there's still a lot of resistance that's been built up and a little bit of embarrassment about not being prepared to follow the law of the land," said Himmelstein, chief health policy strategist at the Center for Health Policy and Research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. "That being said, the policy track and the IT track [represent] relatively big changes in the economy, and they do take some time to implement."

A number of Republican-led states have defiantly rejected the seemingly small-government option of building their own exchanges, charging the state-based exchanges "are not state-based at all," as South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley put it.

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[diddy_back_again]

You all were warned at how bad this Obama care is going to be. The death panel, rationing, doctor shortages, wait times, employers dropping coverage, more HHS mandates, etc...I guess that's ok with you. I bet you still believe this is going to be great and all that stuff won't happen. When it does, get ready for the Marxist class warfare. I bet you don't look at the other countries that have this in place. You did not do your research and believed the socialists. Why do so many people from Canada come to the United States for treatment? Remember, you all were warned........

[HolyVoice]

I wonder if this is going out to be as ironic as it looks, that the blue states are all going to use state systems, and the red states are going to all use federal systems.

That state's rights opinion for making your own system really works best when Democrats work together.

Not sure if Republicans can work together with anybody.

[bobw101]

The Religious Right just seems to have this insane version of Jesus which, if President, would be waging wars of aggression and ignoring our sick and poor.

In short, that's not the Jesus in the Bible.

----------------------------------------------------

*** does Jesus have to do with the fact that our health care system is unsustainable?

[HolyVoice]

And I bet you Jesus would take insurance for himself either.

It's really great when healing is innate.

[fiddlestickawshucks]

The healthcare plan is nothing but 2000+ pages of BS dreamed up by Obama in his attempt to turn the US into a Socialist state.

26 States have filed to cecede from the Union in an effort to foil politicians from making things worse than they already are.!!!

[democracy8]

Good luck with that, LOL!

[jimbom121]

You ean the one written by the Heritage Foundation and Mitt Romney right?

[nearl451]

So....I guess like Romney, the Governor's had no plan "B" either.

[Krowster]

It would be nice if they remove the Government sponsored healthcare program from these worthless politicians. I'm sure they would see thins a lot differently.

[cydygitt2]

APOSTOLIC says: "Sure, it's going to create jobs...in a bureaucracy. Nothing that will generate revenue."

---


Considering that one of the fastest growing sectors in our economy over the past 32-straight months of private-sector job creation, is the health care sector, you seem to have missed the mark considerably!

Also, since this will be a huge expansion for the for-profit insurance industry with 30+ million Americans added to the insurance roles, how can anyone say this will be a "bureaucracy," that will not generate huge amounts of private-sector revenue for the health care industry?



US elections 2012: CEOs of health care industry worried about Romney

The CEOs might not approve of Obama's Health Care law in totality, but if Romney does come out on top and occupies the White House, the CEOs fear that they would have to recast their strategies.

The big players like UnitedHealth Group and Blue Cross Blue Shield expected to rope in new customers and rake in billions of dollars from the new customers who'll get health insurance under the law.

In the event of a Romney win, the insurers would be in the doldrums.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13285404-u-s-elections-2012-ceos-of-healthcare-industry-worried-about-romney

[hypnotoad72]

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13285404-u-s-elections-2012-ceos-of-healthcare-industry-worried-about-romney

I read the article and had to laugh.

Given Obama used Romney's advisers to make "Obamacare" (do web searches), it's all hot air.

Romney and his choice of Ryan would have been a big boon for insurance companies as well; the "voucher plan" they loved would have ensured that.

And even the article you'd mentioned sums it all up:

"That is a whole lot of money at stake."

Holy death panels, batman...

It's never about the people or life. Always about the money.

Obama's using Romney's healthcare plan has been interesting enough, but the article feels nothing more than a form of reverse psychology.

Oh,

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/mar/20/romneycare-and-obamacare-can-you-tell-difference/

[tmittelstaed]

typez, you are a fool, regurgitating RepubliCON talking points.

The Republicans and Democrats knew the health care system in this country was screwed up for the last 40 years. The Democrats tried a number of times to fix it and were stymied. The Republicans were content to do nothing and allow people to continue to die, and health care costs to continue to skyrocket.

The system didn't need tweaking. The system needed replacement.

[cydygitt2]

The most hilarious and hypocritical part of this ploy by GOP governors, is that they have been screeching about "government-controlled" health care for years now, and when given the chance to setup their own state-run health care exchanges like paul ryan proposed for Medicare, they have opted for the government to set them up for them, instead!

LOL!

As a matter of fact, there's quite a few republican ideas in the PPACA, and even the OPT-OUT clause for any state that can provide health care better and cheaper than the PPACA -- but not one state has done what MA did already!

[democracy8]

+1

Really does show the hypocrisy, doesn't it?

[wfw3536]

Twenty states have now opted out of doing setting up the healthcare centers in their states. Why should states do it when the Feds are in total control with the states having little say. Implementing Obamacare will cost tens of billions more than Obama says it will cost.

[cydygitt2]

And the fox political network said so.....it must be "true"! LOL!

[GossamerWings]

You have no clue. Get the facts. Real numbers please and stop repeating FOX.

[cbsisgreat]

I just want thing to get done. Enough of this partisan politics. Too many of us see politics as a game with one side having to win and th other side having to lose. The rest of the world loves this as they quickly work to pass us by.

This may sound like a joke but the President should appoint Mitt Romney Secretary of Health and Human Services.

[cydygitt2]

LOL! While President Obama kept bush's Sec. of Defense in 2009, and even appointed Jon Huntsman, as Ambassador to China, and re-appointed bush's pick for Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, when was the last time ANY GOP president appointed a Democrat to their administration?

[hypnotoad72]

cydygitt2 -

You forgot TARP guru Geithner, who was brought in by Bush as well.

Still, Obama is compromising with them... why does the GOP whine and bleat at every turn?

And noting Obama turned to Romney advisers about "Romneycare", maybe Obama could appoint Romney and be done with it. A pseudo-Democrat is better at achieving compromise than a pseudo-Republican.