The States Can Block ObamaCare
ObamaCare has passed constitutional muster - so far - but it's still a long way from implementation. That won't happen without the voluntary cooperation of the states, which has been slow to evolve. The administration is desperately trying to put together a coalition of the coerced and the bribed to get this thing off the ground.
For example: The law gives states "grants" to create healthcare exchanges, the government-run insurance markets that are supposed to make the whole scheme work. So few states are making progress on the exchanges that HHS has just announced that states can use those grants to cover up to six years of operating expenses, according to Cato's Michael Cannon.
But wait - aren't the exchanges mandatory? The reporters at the NY Times and WashPo tend to describe them as if they were. In fact, they are not. Which is why the Times recently ran a scolding editorial declaring that "it is imperative that as many states as possible move aggressively to establish . . . new insurance policy exchanges." Of course, if states were truly required to set up the exchanges, they wouldn't need a nudge from the Times. As Cannon has explained, there's no penalty for not setting up an exchange. Under ObamaCare, the federal government can theoretically create an exchange for a state -- except that HHS doesn't have the money.
Write your governor and your state representatives. Tell them to just say no to health exchanges.
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Comments:
Apr '12
Re: The States Can Block ObamaCare
I'm sure Mr. Brown and Mmes. Feinstein and Boxer will carefully consider my input on this.
May '12
Re: The States Can Block ObamaCare
The fed gov't still collects the taxes associated with Obamacare. I doubt the feds care that much if states implement the exchanges or not. The ultimate goal is to centralize power in DC and until we have a consistent conservative legislature to eliminate all the taxes confiscated by this law the tyranny will continue.
Jan '11
Re: The States Can Block ObamaCare
This warms the cockles of my heart but I think that Gov. Brewer has already started the process.
May '12
Re: The States Can Block ObamaCare
You mean Governor Andrew Cuomo? We're doomed!
Mar '11
Re: The States Can Block ObamaCare
To further this point, the fallback option for states which do not establish exchanges is that uninsured patients from those states will simply be transferred to a federal exchange. In other words, by declining to set up their own exchanges, these states are actually increasing the power of the federal regulators.