Health care law reverberating in battleground states

CBS News

(CBS News) The Supreme Court's decision Thursday to uphold key provisions of the Affordable Care Act has thrown many state governments in flux, either scrambling to ramp up preparations for increased Medicaid coverage or risking control of their insurance marketplace by banking on a new White House resident this November.

Governors Scott Walker, R-Wis., and Bobby Jindal, R-La., for example, have made clear their intentions to pursue the latter, refusing to ready their states for the health care law's provisions that will take full effect in 2014. "Every governor's got two critical decisions to make," Jindal, who frequents vice presidential rumors, said Sunday on Meet the Press. "One is do we set up these exchanges; and, secondly, do we expand Medicaid? And no, in Louisiana, we're not doing either one of those things.

"I don't think it makes sense to do those," Jindal continued. "I think it makes more sense to do everything we can to elect [presumptive GOP nominee] Mitt Romney to repeal 'Obamacare.'"

A win by Romney - the former Massachusetts governor who penned what Democrats say was the blueprint of President Obama's individual mandate - could hinge on this election's battleground states. On CBS News' Face the Nation on Sunday, Walker - governor of a particularly hot swing state - expressed sentiment similar to Jindal's, promising to "wait" until Republicans have "put in place a new president, a new Senate majority, and then ultimately repeal the law."

But a Jan. 1, 2013 deadline that requires states to have their insurance exchanges certified by the federal government poses threat to governors and state legislatures that wait too long to prepare for enormous spikes in Medicaid enrollment; if the deadline isn't met, the federal government will take control of that state's exchanges.

From special legislative sessions to ramped-up exchange efforts, local reports from these battleground states suggest political motivations will make them the most obvious barometer of the health care law's reverberations come November.

• COLORADO - It's "full speed ahead" for health insurance expansion, reads a Denver Post article, which predicts the court's ruling will "speed insurance expansions to nearly all Coloradans, while opponents regroup for future fights, state officials and health experts said. The state will redouble efforts to prepare for 2014's growth in Medicaid enrollment, and a consumer 'exchange' where other individuals should find affordable, uniform benefits, proponents said." 

• FLORIDA - Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., needs time to decide how he'll deal with the court's ruling, the Tampa Bay Times reports. However, it reads, if "the state decides to move forward, lawmakers already have placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would prohibit individuals or employers from being forced to obtain health insurance or from being penalized for not doing so. The ballot initiative, which needs 60 percent support to pass, is unlikely to have any real impact, however, because federal law supersedes state law. But it could bring the state and federal governments back together in a courtroom, a battle that Senate President Mike Haridopolos welcomes."

• IOWA- Republicans and Democrats in Iowa are trying to avoid having to call a special legislative session by finding a time and place to informally determine how to implement the newly upheld health care law, reports the Des Moines Register. "State Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, said he and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's chief of staff Jeff Boeyink have talked about a summit with others interested in health care. It would hopefully take place in the next two to four weeks, organized by a neutral group such as a hospital, he said. The main topic: hash over details of a state health-insurance exchange."

• NEVADA - Facing a possible $60 million price tag from increased Medicaid enrollment over the next two years, Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval may opt out of the law's expanded Medicaid options, the Nevada Appeal reports: "Sandoval's office said the state Health and Human Services Department expects an additional 49,000 Nevadans to enroll in Medicaid as a result of the mandate to have insurance. Those are individuals not currently in the program even though eligible. Sandoval said that would cost the state about $60 million over the next biennium."

• NEW HAMPSHIRE - With regards to the Supreme Court's decision, "New Hampshire's congressional delegation is reacting largely along party lines," the Associated Press reports, "with Republicans vowing to amend the law and Democrats praising the decision." Democratic Gov. John Lynch said in a statement: "As a state, we have been preparing to implement the Affordable Care Act and will continue doing so in a way that best fits New Hampshire." 

• NEW MEXICO - The Santa Fe New Mexican calls the state's post-health care ruling position "limbo," reasoning that "Medicaid has a major footprint in New Mexico. It covers one in four New Mexicans to the tune of just under $1 billion in state dollars, or 16 percent of the state budget. The federal government picks up most of New Mexico's Medicaid tab, which totals $3.8 billion... Gov. Susana Martinez's administration on Thursday was still digesting Thursday's ruling and couldn't say what it would decide to push for -- a full-scale expansion of Medicaid, as called for under the law, or something else."

• NORTH CAROLINA - Citing the Jan. 1 exchange deadline, the Charlotte Observer reports that North Carolina "risks losing control of the health insurance marketplace it has to establish under the federal law the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Thursday if it hesitates to authorize it much longer." Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue's office "said only that the governor would review the ruling to determine how it might affect Medicaid, and that she had spoken to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius." 

• OHIO - The Supreme Court's ruling gives Republican Gov. John Kasich "the choice of whether to open Ohio Medicaid to an additional 700,000 to 900,000 uninsured Ohioans," the Dayton Daily News reports, "but it is unclear if the state will go ahead with it. Ohio Medicaid, a state and federally funded health plan for disabled and low-income people, would see its enrollment balloon by as much as 40 percent -- 3.1 million enrollees, up from the current 2.2 million -- and costs would climb $5 billion a year, according to the governor's Office on Health Transformation." 

• PENNSYLVANIA - Gov. Tom Corbett won't yet comment on whether Pennsylvania will choose to cover more people under Medicaid, but Senate Appropriations Chair Jake Corman expressed concern that "if the decision of whether to expand subsidized medical care for the poor is truly left to the states, then it becomes a budget issue, meaning lawmakers will have input," the Associated Press reports. 

• VIRGINIA - Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, another favorite among Romney-veepstakes speculators, wouldn't weigh in on the state's next move following the court's ruling, but instead "lashed out at Obama for imposing an 'unfunded mandate' on Virginia to the tune of $2.2 billion over a decade if the state grows its Medicaid base," the Virginia-Pilot reports.
  

• WISCONSIN - "We're going to wait," Gov. Scott Walker told Face the Nation about his plan for the health care law. "We have said all along that there was a legal step, there's a political step, and then after each of those steps were exhausted we will see what the future holds. But very clearly the court pointed out that the law is upheld constitutionally but it also pointed out very clearly this is a massive tax increase." The Wisconsin State Journal reports that implementing the law in Wisconsin "could insure 340,000 of the state's 526,000 uninsured residents, while business groups said the law would increase costs and health care providers debated some of its implications."
  

  Haley Bull contributed to this report.

[JEngdahlJ]

Which states will get on the exchange bandwagon in wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on PPACA? http://www.healthcaretownhall.com/?p=5632

[TimeToEvolve]

Don't you just love these Republicon governors who act as if they are some kind of damn patriots, rebelling against America. These arrogant traitors pretend to support the Constitution and the rule of law and then spurn it. Vote out ALL Republicons in 2012 and end their misery.

[bamissfa]

we have a democrat governor Bev Perdue ( NC ) we can't wait to give the boot! NC has 400,000 illegal aliens thanks to Perdue's inaction.
It is NOT anti patriot to dissent the dissenters like obama clintons, soros...all dissenters of the US Constitution....obama's following castro's plan of Marxism. Wake up fruits and nuts. Obama and soro are antichrist material.

[Nocults]

by hillzhavays July 2, 2012 12:43 PM EDT
nocults, try injecting something relevant into your comments for once.
==================================================================

OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Celestial" marriage, as this eternal marriage is often called, is essential for Mormon women. Without being celestially married to a holder of the priesthood, a woman cannot be "saved" (Green 154). Mary Ettie Smith, a Mormon woman who left the church and Utah in 1856, said that "women do not amount to much in themselves," and that women in those times were often celestially married to men they had no intention of ever living with, so that they could have a man who would be able to get them into heaven (Green 154).

[raptor-022]

bmallen3 July 2, 2012 8:21 AM EDT
"it does nothing to help with medical costs."



Maybe not, but neither does anything that the republicans have done either, but the PPACA sure has built-in cost-cutting mechanisms for health care costs for the insured patients, like Sections 1302, 1312, 1333 and 6801. The PPACA also cuts budget deficits and the national debt with built-in funding mechanisms mainly geared towards the top 2% and the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Try reading the constitutional law for a change, instead of just parroting your usual republican talking points and outright lies!

[raptor-022]

hillzhavays July 2, 2012 1:03 PM EDT
"There is no evidence pointing to medical costs being the CAUSE of bankruptcy in the US."



Why are you always so wrong, spewing your endless republican talking points so far from reality and the truth? Did rush tell you that?


Study Links Medical Costs and Personal Bankruptcy

Medical problems caused 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. in 2007, according to a study by Harvard researchers. And in a finding that surprised even the researchers, 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illness, including 60.3% who had private coverage, not Medicare or Medicaid.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db2009064_666715.htm

**************************

Medical bills prompt more than 60 percent of U.S. bankruptcies

This year, an estimated 1.5 million Americans will declare bankruptcy. Many people may chalk up that misfortune to overspending or a lavish lifestyle, but a new study suggests that more than 60 percent of people who go bankrupt are actually capsized by medical bills.

Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50 percent in a six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-05/health/bankruptcy.medical.bills_1_medical-bills-bankruptcies-health-insurance?_s=PM:HEALTH

[raptor-022]

Again, for those with severe reading comprehension problems:

Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50 percent in a six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.


Darn....published in that liberal 'American Journal of Medicine,' and all you have is the lies and deceptions from fox and rush! LOL!

[hillzhavays]

by missyfive July 2, 2012 12:05 PM EDT
Additionally, hospitals can legally put a lien on your house if your cannot pay your hospital bill. Keep in mind that healthcare expenses are the #1 cause of bankruptcy
____________________________________

This Lib talking point and complete fallacy has been debunked more than once. There is no evidence pointing to medical costs being the CAUSE of bankruptcy in the US. It is true that many bankruptcies include medical bills, but to say they are the cause is not true.

If I declare bankruptcy and wipe out $50,000 in debts, of which $2000 is a medical bill, that bill didn't cause my bankrupcty, but technically, since it's part of the debt, it contributed to my bankruptcy. There's a difference.

[raptor-022]

LOL! All you have is the same debunked republican talking points!

Bankruptcies due to medical bills increased by nearly 50 percent in a six-year period, from 46 percent in 2001 to 62 percent in 2007, and most of those who filed for bankruptcy were middle-class, well-educated homeowners, according to a report that will be published in the August issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

[benunhappy]

the differance is you have health insurance and the party that lost it's humanity keeps blowing smoke screens that make people follow thier lack of humanity. Keep this one thing in mind and be afraid, those answering these polls and following corporate millions like CBS are many but for every one of you that answer these polls and listen to only one side there are a hundred that can't get insurance because of the system and because the Supreme court backed this affordable health care these hundreds may not answer these stupid polls or have internet or even computers like many of us but They Will Be out there VOTING and the only way they won't or can't will be because the Right will find a way to buy greedy politicians who will do only what money tells them to .GOD BLESS EVERYONE espescially those who NEED it most.

[wfw3536]

What is really sad is the middle class family in 2016 that can't afford or doesn't want Obamataxcare, yet will be facing a 2,000 dollar plus tax each year. And they better pay the tax or all those new IRS agents being hired under this law will be on their front doorstep. It is now projected that Obamataxcare will cost at least one trillion dollars over the new 10 years once it is fully implemented in 2014.

[raptor-022]

LOL! Keep parroting the same deceptive lies and debunked republican talking points, since the PPACA is a pillar of personal responsibility like Chief Justice Roberts pointed out, and with the built-in funding mechanisms mostly for the top 2% and the health care and pharmaceutical industries, it will reduce deficits and the national debt, unlike the bush wars and bush tax cuts! LOL!

[Nocults]

Yep, the nations largest employer, Wal-Mart, has the highest percentage of the working poor that earn so little that they pay no taxes and qualify for food stamps, Medicaid and housing assistance.
What should they do to keep the rich from suffering a 2% tax increase that would reduce our deficits, save Social Security, Medicare, and our local governments???????

[KPeters_from_UK]

by RatPackSixGun July 2, 2012 1:57 AM EDT
This doesn't "guarantee" health care for anyone. You walk into the ER tonight and they're legally bound to treat you. Period.
-------------------------------

Will you and your friends stop writing that!!! It isn't completely true. There are people who demand you pay for your treatment at your bedside. Then when you do leave, you leave with a bill of thousands of dollars (I know. I receive a bill for $1200 just for the freakin ambulance!). Finally, please tell me how the patient is going to pay for preventive treatment and the medicines he needs in order not to go into the hospital again?

[missyfive]

Additionally, hospitals can legally put a lien on your house if your cannot pay your hospital bill. Keep in mind that healthcare expenses are the #1 cause of bankruptcy and no Republican wants to admit that. No one plans to get sick or plans to acquire a major illness; if you're human, you'll need medical care at some point in your life. We need the ACA; Republicans had decades to fix healthcare and never did it. Thank goodness we had a President and a Democratic Congress willing to look out for the American people and provide care. Congress has excellent care paid for by the American taxpayer. Their health is not more important than mine. Instead of repealing healthcare, Republicans should be working to make it better and not working to deny care to people who need it.

[hillzhavays]

missy, name 5 people who have hospital liens on their house. Name them now, but just their property address.

Also, name the source you are referencing about bankruptcy. Lib Blogs do not count. The fact is that is not true, but you apparently don't know that.

[blurkosphere]

Aren't the Exchanges basically just websites? What's the big deal about setting that up? Hmm, have a website where a consumer can actually compare what different insurance companies are charging for their services (and maybe what the CEO gets paid). NO, NO we wouldn't want that!

[wdrussell1]

If the ACA can survive the fascist attacks, it will prove to be so wildly popular, Americans will begin to question if there is anybody in the GOP who cares about those who are not in the 1 percent.