Most Governors Refuse to Set Up Health Exchanges

[alp227]

Source: NYT

The Obama administration said Friday that more than half the states had rejected its pleas to set up their own health insurance exchanges, dealing a setback to President Obama’s hopes that Republicans would join a White House campaign to provide health insurance to all Americans.

Friday was the deadline for states to notify the federal government of their plans, and administration officials had been hoping that Mr. Obama’s re-election would overcome resistance to the new health care law.

Federal officials said they knew of 17 states that intended to run their own exchanges, as Congress intended.

Two of those states, New York and Kentucky, won conditional federal approval on Friday for their plans to create and run state-based exchanges. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, also approved an application from the District of Columbia.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/us/most-states-miss-deadline-to-set-up-health-exchanges.html

[Flatpicker]

1. That's ok in the long game

Towards Single Payer.

[patrice]

5. Actually it could do that, because the HEW exchanges will have bigger pools, ergo more pricing &

services covered options.

[LynneSin]

7. that's what I'm thinking

I was reading the article about Corbett rejecting it and first thing I thought is that thanks to people like Corbett - in 10 years we'll have single payer.

[patrice]

2. They'll still get health care insurance exchanges, just that those exchanges will be designed by

HEW and the states themselves will have less say in what their exchange is like.

[dkf]

3. Maybe all states should have declined then we could have set up a federal system.

[RKP5637]

4. Maybe in the long run this is better? I trust the Federal gov. more to set this up than TPTB

in my teabagger state.

[midnight]

10. I feel the same way about our Wis. Gov.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. I am with you on this

I never understood the state exchanges and tend to think the Feds will do better than some of the states would.

[RKP5637]

22. To me, there should be consistently from state to state and it would seem having

the Feds do it would ensure consistency.

[KatyMan]

24. Agreed

trust the feds more than Goodhair

[Skittles]

6. but I bet those bastards support the NRA

[RKP5637]

23. They love them there guns here. Can't be a man without a big gun!

[JDPriestly]

8. California has a website devoted to its healthcare exchange.

http://www.healthexchange.ca.gov/Pages/Default.aspx

[msongs]

9. that page needs a summary description of the exchange and what it actually does, including

services. it is not that useful as published

[JDPriestly]

15. I suspect that they are in the process of setting up the exchange. Don't know that for a fact.

[BadgerKid]

26. I imagine it would include a policy search

akin to what people can do on the Medicare web site. Just a guess, though.

[underpants]

28. The exchanges will work like Travelocity or Priceline type websites

you enter in your info (age, sex, smoker?, weight, zip code, etc.) and the site gives you the insurance plans that are available to you. You then decide which to go with.

[markpkessinger]

11. "... President Obama’s hopes that Republicans would join a White House campaign ..." Seriously?

". . . dealing a setback to President Obama’s hopes that Republicans would join a White House campaign to provide health insurance to all Americans."

I really, sincerely hope that was a bit of editorializing on the part of the NY Times, because if it wasn't, and the President really was banking on such hope, it is inexcusably naive.

[Cha]

17. Oh good grief.. PBO had hoped but that doesn't mean

he thought they would. What was he was suppose to say?.. That he knew they were too fucking determined to not help their citizens out to implement OBAMACARE?

[Kennah]

13. Having both a federal exchange and a number of state exchanges is a good thing

We will get to see a live experiment as to whether a federally healthcare program, like the UK NHS, or something mandated by a future federal law but run by the state, a bit more like Switzerland though not entirely, would work better.

Here in Washington, we are doing our part leading the charge to build an exchange. It's all good. Just part of the experiment for a future universal healthcare law.

[TomCADem]

14. "Gun Owners of America Claims Obamacare will "Take Away Your Guns"

The right wing has been pendaling the idea that Obamacare is a means of gun control.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/guns/gun-owners-america-claims-obamacare-will-take-away-your-guns

Larry Pratt, head of the Religious Right group 'Gun Owners of America,' recently appeared on VCY America’s Crosstalk radio show where he claimed that Obamacare would be used by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to take away guns from law-abiding Americans, reports RightWingWatch.org.

Pratt said: &quot Obamacare) says that all of our medical records are available to be pawed through by bureaucrats somewhere in Washington, looking for a reason to disenfranchise gun owners, to say: ‘Oh you have a medical diagnosis that means you might be a danger to yourself or others so we’re going to come and knock on the door for the BATF to take away your guns.’"

There is a law that screens out people, such as the mentally ill, through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to prevent them from purchasing guns. However, this law was signed by President Bush.

[jmowreader]

19. I can think of two people who need their guns taken away

Larry Pratt and Wayne LaPierre have this weird delusion that lets them see everything the president does as a reason to take away your guns. This makes themself a danger to themselves and others, mandating the government take away not only their guns but also their microphones.

[HawkeyeLibkid]

16. Yep

At least my Republican Governor Terry Branstad is smart enough to know what to do. He's not my favorite guy by any means, but he's got something right here.

[Cha]

18. Where's that? And Welcome to DU,

HawkeyeLibkid

[jwirr]

20. This is nothing more than wanting the feds to do it for them because that is the way it will be.

Then they can set back and either take credit for success when it works or blame the feds if it fails. Cowards.

[NYC Liberal]

21. Then the federal government will do it.

How stupid of these governors.

When the Feds come in and set it up themselves, these same people will scream and shout about big-government's "intrusion" into the affairs of states -- even though they had the opportunity to do this themselves at the state level.

[Brigid]

25. And IN is another one.

I don't want to hear any whining from that idiot Pence when the Feds do it for him.

[donco]

27. I thought that

the repugs were all for insurance plans that crossed state lines.Go figure.