Poll after poll is still showing that a majority of Americans still haven’t changed their minds and do not support the health care reform law. On the other hand, they also oppose the efforts of Republicans to repeal the law.
Nevertheless, Republicans are still fighting to overturn the law by saying that the 10th Amendment dictates that government program initiatives are the responsibility and business of state governments, and not the federal government. States aren’t faring much better, though. With the health care reform program, they will be forced to start footing some of the bill and don’t want that burden forced on them. They’re now considering options when it comes to complying and challenging the new law.
As a response, task forces are being appointed in many States to study how the law will affect them with specific emphasis on figuring out how to implement the parts of the program that kick in later this year. Their immediate focus is on how to administer high-risk pools, which offer insurance for people with pre-existing conditions who can't get coverage. Other initiatives like expanding Medicaid coverage to more low-income people don’t kick in till 2014. While it may fall lower on their priority list, some States are choosing whether to implement these changes earlier.
At the other end of the spectrum, two states – Rhode Island and Utah – may decide to completely opt out of setting up temporary high risk insurance pools mandated by the federal law. If so, these pools will then be run by the federal government with funding provided by these States.
We are committed to following these events and bringing attention to them in this blog. Stay tuned!
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