States Prepare to Push Back Against
By Grace-Marie Turner
Texas Insider Report: Washington D.C. Newly elected state legislators and governors are facing a torrent of federal mandates to implement the new health overhaul law a law which many vociferously campaigned against. States will be on the front lines in the battle against ObamaCare over the next two years as they lead the fight against this hugely unpopular law.
Governors have been in meetings this week with leaders in Congress and the president to express their concerns and both Republicans and Democrats are demanding more flexibility.
The federal government is demanding that states spend precious time in upcoming legislative sessions to set up massive new bureaucracies in anticipation of spending billions of dollars to implement ObamaCare.
But there are ways states can protect themselves from being swamped by these federal demands.
Heres our new paper with eight ideas of things that states can do to push back.
Rep. John Shadegg who is retiring from Congress this year recently blasted the law.
Doctors hospitals insurance companies and others came in good faith to be part of health reform but their trust was betrayed" he said.
The three paths are either single-payer massive government regulation or a competitive marketplace. The American people have clearly said they prefer the latter.
Be sure to also revisit the recently published
Fighting ObamaCare: A 4-Pronged Strategy for Congress & the States or the Hard-to-Find list of 111 companies granted waivers by HHS (so far).
Federal Actions:
The health overhaul law will clearly be a key focus of Republicans in the next Congress. The damage the law is doing to the health sector and to the economy particularly in suffocating jobs creation makes it a top priority. Todays report that unemployment has reached 9.8 is further evidence.
The House will hold a vote for full repeal early next year then likely move on to targeted bills to take rifle shots at ObamaCare. Three places they might want to start:
- Repeal the individual mandate: This is by far the most unpopular provision in the hugely unpopular law. The savings from repeal could go toward providing resources to the states to give them the flexibility to set up better and more functional high-risk pools and to provide help for the uninsured to purchase coverage.
- Delay cuts to Medicare Advantage: Seniors need more not fewer options to get coverage through private plans as they face more and more trouble finding a doctor who will see them in traditional Medicare.
- Relief for business: Congress must start with repealing the 1099 provision that will bury businesses under a mountain of pointless paperwork. The fact that Republican Sen. Mike Johanns got 61 votes for his 1099 repeal provision this week to Democratic Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus 44 votes tells you there is strong bi-partisan
support for repeal. Then Congress must hold hearings to let businesses tell their own story about how the mandates that they must provide insurance or pay a fine and the $500 billion in new taxes are going to impact their business decisions health costs and job creation.
The political battles will continue and it is important that the American people understand the details of the health overhaul law and its damaging impact on the health sector and the economy especially jobs creation and health costs.
Most of all conservatives need to make sure people know that they know the facts: Yes there are problems in the health sector that need to be fixed but the jobs-killing health overhaul law gets it terribly and destructively wrong. Our ideas would put doctors and patients in charge of health care decisions not government bureaucrats.
We can get this right if we take a step-by-step approach and listen to the American people about the right way to do targeted reform.
Our conference this week on Challenges and Changes: The Next Chapter in the Health Reform Debate" was superb packed with valuable ideas and insights about actions both state and federal officials can take to get us on the right path to health reform.
The conference which was jointly sponsored by Galen the American Action Forum and the Institute for Policy Innovation featured a panel discussion between Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) who squared off over the path ahead.
Sen. Wyden talked about his proposal to give states more flexibility in setting up the infrastructure to implement ObamaCare but Dr. Burgess pushed back saying that cant help avoid the huge damage the law will do and already is doing to our health sector and economy. He believes it is essential that federal officials be called before Congress to explain in detail what they are doing to implement the law in writing thousands and thousands of pages of regulations
many with no public input.
Rep. John Shadegg who is retiring from Congress this year gave the keynote address also blasting the law.
Doctors hospitals insurance companies and others came in good faith to be part of health reform but their trust was betrayed" he said.
The three paths are either single-payer massive government regulation or a competitive marketplace. The American people have clearly said they prefer the latter.
AAF President Doug Holtz-Eakin said it will be virtually impossible to deliver the new subsidies for health insurance to an estimated 16 million people in the manner dictated by the law through state exchanges.
He explained they will require incredibly cumbersome bureaucracies that must track the income every month of people who are eligible calculate the subsidies for which these millions of people are eligible find out what insurance company they have selected and get the money to the company which is in most cases will be only partial payment of a very expensive policy.
The entire event was webcast live and the tape is being uploaded to the web so you will be able to view it anytime. The handouts and PowerPoints are available online and the webcast will be available on the same page very
soon.
The job of the next Congress will be to lift regulatory burdens reduce taxes and provide new opportunities and incentives for people to work save and invest.
Ms. Turner is president of the Galen Institute.
