Lawsuits, Exemptions, and Exceptions Are Not Health Care Reform
In another admission that the Democrats’ health care law is unworkable, the Obama Administration announced today rules that states must follow to ask for the Administration’s permission beginning in 2017, in order to “opt out” of the bulk of the health care law. The announcement comes on the heels of news earlier this week that the Obama Administration granted the state of Maine a waiver from a major provision of the health care law for two years, the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) provision, which is widely believed to increase health care costs and has already caused people in other states to lose the insurance they have and like.
All told, 30 states (in red below) are either seeking a waiver, have received a waiver or are suing the federal government to get out from under the budget-busting and job-crushing mandates in the law. Lawsuits, exemptions, and exceptions are not health care reform. When 30 states are taking steps to prevent the implementation of the Democrats’ health care law in their state, that is a pretty strong indicator that the health care law is not working and that we need to repeal it, start over, and craft workable solutions that will actually increase affordability and access – for all Americans. Here are the states by the numbers:
|
28 |
States suing to overturn the Democrats’ health care law (full list below) |
|
3 |
States seeking a waiver to exempt their residents from certain portions of the Democrats’ health care law (Kentucky, Nevada and New Hampshire) |
|
1 |
State that has received a waiver from certain portions of the Democrats’ health care law (Maine) |
(Note: Of the 28 states involved in litigation related to the health care law, the state of Nevada has applied for a waiver and the state of Maine has received a waiver.)
States suing: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Sources:
States applying for waivers
http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/148179-maine-gets-reprieve-from-health-reform-insurance-requirement
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41978227
States involved in the various lawsuits challenging the Democrats’ health care law
http://aca-litigation.wikispaces.com/file/view/Original+Complaint.pdf
http://www.wtvr.com/extras/wtvr/pdf/va_health_lawsuit.pdf
http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/JFAO-85FNM9/$file/Complaint.pdf
http://aca-litigation.wikispaces.com/file/view/Order+granting+motion+to+amend+complaint.pdf
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