With 18 new GOP governors taking office this year, implementation of the healthcare reform law is undergoing an about-face in some states, according to a report by the Washington Post.
A key example is Wisconsin, already known for its battle between incoming GOP Gov. Scott Walker and weakened state Democrats over a bill limiting collective bargaining by government employees.
Former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle created the Office of Health Care Reform and drafted the only prototype in the country on navigating the new health insurance exchanges under the law. When Gov. Walker was elected, both houses of the legislature shifted to the GOP, and the state's reform office was replaced with the Office of Free Market Health Care.
This abrupt U-turn in the state's healthcare policy illustrates "the treacherous terrain the Obama administration and congressional Democrats are walking by entrusting states to carry out major parts of the plan," the Post stated. Now 29 governors are Republicans, including the 18 who just took office. As in Wisconsin, both chambers of the legislature in five other states switched to GOP control.
Dennis G. Smith, the new secretary of the Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, said he would still create the health insurance exchange but they will not carry out some aspects required by the law. For example, Smith disagrees with a requirement that every health plan sold on the exchange must cover list of "essential benefits" set by HHS.
Read the Washington Post report on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage on states' implementation of healthcare reform:
- Some States Exceeding Healthcare Reform Requirements
- HHS Allocates $241M for Developing State Health Insurance Exchanges
- Proposed Rule Released for Innovation Waivers From Reform Law
A key example is Wisconsin, already known for its battle between incoming GOP Gov. Scott Walker and weakened state Democrats over a bill limiting collective bargaining by government employees.
Former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle created the Office of Health Care Reform and drafted the only prototype in the country on navigating the new health insurance exchanges under the law. When Gov. Walker was elected, both houses of the legislature shifted to the GOP, and the state's reform office was replaced with the Office of Free Market Health Care.
This abrupt U-turn in the state's healthcare policy illustrates "the treacherous terrain the Obama administration and congressional Democrats are walking by entrusting states to carry out major parts of the plan," the Post stated. Now 29 governors are Republicans, including the 18 who just took office. As in Wisconsin, both chambers of the legislature in five other states switched to GOP control.
Dennis G. Smith, the new secretary of the Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, said he would still create the health insurance exchange but they will not carry out some aspects required by the law. For example, Smith disagrees with a requirement that every health plan sold on the exchange must cover list of "essential benefits" set by HHS.
Read the Washington Post report on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage on states' implementation of healthcare reform:
- Some States Exceeding Healthcare Reform Requirements
- HHS Allocates $241M for Developing State Health Insurance Exchanges
- Proposed Rule Released for Innovation Waivers From Reform Law