Posted on 02/17/2013 4:36:53 PM PST by upchuck
The backbone of President Obama’s health care law is taking shape, with 26 states choosing to let the federal government run the online insurance markets mandated by his signature reforms instead of keeping the job in-house or partnering with the feds.
The Department of Health and Human Services had encouraged states to run their own markets, or “exchanges,” that help the uninsured find coverage. Only 17 states and the District of Columbia took on the task, while seven states decided to split the duty with the Obama administration, according to a breakdown by the Kaiser Family Foundation...
State leaders who deferred to the federal government cited numerous reasons for their choices: They wanted to distance themselves from Mr. Obama’s first-term achievement, could not obtain enough information to make an informed decision or ran out of time after Mitt Romney lost the presidential election. That loss effectively ended Republicans’ hopes to repeal the health care law...
“We are making great progress, we are on track, and we will be ready for people all across the country to obtain high-quality, affordable health care coverage beginning on Oct. 1,” Gary Cohen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
The Federal Government is incompetent. They don't stand a chance in hell of being to run something this complex.
The headline is very misleading. It makes it sound like the states are doing a good thing by climbing in bed with the Feds. Instead, the states are saying, “We don’t want to get involved. You do it.”
This project will be an IT nightmare. The Feds have been trying since the mid 90s to get a nationwide medical records database set up. Haven’t been able to do it yet. And they think they can do this exchange thing? What a laffer!
upchuck~:” The Federal Government is incompetent. They don’t stand a chance in hell of being to run something this complex.”
Incompetent is an understatement !
See what they have done with the U.S. Postal Service ?
It takes brains,tough decisions,inventiveness and leadership
all that we have is an orator , with no leadership !
and no commanding presence ... just a talker !
In Virginia:
“... McDonnell said he intends to sign legislation moving through the General Assembly that gives the State Corporation Commission oversight of insurers and health plans offered on a federally run exchange. “
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=372357&type=lifehealth
Hello courts: 10th amendment or ...?
It's too bad about those massive compound fractures of both legs, Mr. Rat, but mark your calendar because we have you scheduled for surgery in 8-10 months.
What about the other 31 states?
Those morons can’t even organize and run “shove ready jobs”.
Blue states I bet.
Even on the state level they are clueless. I had a relative who submitted some sort rebate for installing a high-efficiency appliance or window. They manged to keep part of that database on a Unencrypted laptop and promptly lost it. Thousand of names, addresses, SSN, etc. were lost. Oops.
We got a notice that certain info had to be sent to our employees about the exchanges, sorry “market places” by March 1.
I was pretty confused since there are no exchanges. Next day I got a notice to disregard the first notice.
There is no way exchanges will be set up by the end of the year. Too complicated to do..and we all know competent the Feds are.
I just read an article about pre-x funding that was supposed to be a “tide over” until 2014 when the insurance companies are going to be forced to take over...ran dry of funds and are accepting no new applicants,
The states, if they are wise, will steer clear of this monstosity.
The Office of Personnel Management runs it. The idea is for the FEHB to put their insurance needs up for bid in all those places. In general the most dominant health insurers in any particular state will be accepted if they meet the standards, then the employees pick the company and type of policy they prefer.
It works well in an organization where every other employee is a total expert in every last single sniggering little detail of federal employee benefits ~ mistakes may be made but they get FIXED in record time.
Operating the same sort of thing for 300 million people is simply not in the same category. There you simply can't count on all the folks who are covered by the plan knowing all the intricacies, or my office name isn't COFFEE BREAK the IV!!!!
The Employer’s obligation to notify all Employees by March 1, 2013 of how the State Insurance Exchanges under PPACA will work; has been *Indefinitely Postponed*.
As the setting up of exchanges is now hopelessly behind schedule; HHS has ‘graciously’ decided that Employers could not possibly write a notice to Employees explaining how something that did not exist works.
The point was to inform all Employees 180 days prior to the State Exchanges effective operating date of October 1.
Since they have postponed the 180-day notice; the implementation date is sure to be postponed.
Problem: The law demanding people carry coverage or get fined is effective January 1, 2014. There are only 92 days between October 1, 2013 and January 1, 2014.
There is a *VERY* small window for screw-ups. They set this disaster up in the law; they were going to try to herd 40 Million uninsured through 50 separate State Exchanges in 92 days. Now it looks like even that small window is in jeopardy.
This is going to be a massive trainwreck this Fall. I’m feeling Senate Majority in 2014....
Tennessee is one of those 31 states and our governor finally made his decision this past week. He said "NO" to the Obamacare health exchange idea and I almost deafened Hubby when I cheered at the news. Letting out a loud WOOHOO!! while riding in a car with the windows up probably wasn't the best thing to do. LOL!
“And they think they can do this exchange thing? What a laffer!”
Overall, what kinds of computers and software are the feds running, in your opinion?
Are they still using floppy disks?
Are TRS-80s or Compaqs still sitting on bureaucrat desks?
Just trying to get a sense of what century the feds are in.
But do I understand correctly that as a conservative you are cheering that the feds will run your plan? I’m actually glad my state is implementing its own exchange, if there is no way to escape having one. I trust the state much more than the feds, especially since my family has been on the state-run health care plan for years and really never experienced a screw-up. Wish it could just stay the way it was with no fed involvement at all.
Gov. Haslam said one of the main reasons he opted out is because he couldn’t get any answers from DC as to how much it would cost the state to run it. There were other questions he couldn’t get answers to either. He decided that if they want an exchange here, the Fed. gov’t. will have to figure out how to do it.
Our state-run health care system is already costing state taxpayers more than enough due to all the fraud and incompetence. And it’s screwed people over.
Be glad your state has a decent system. Not all of us are so lucky.
Yes, I have read criticism of TennCare (sp) on numerous occasions. I guess in Washington State the only people remaining on the plan by now are the “easy” patients — like us so far. Practically everyone else has been dropped for one reason or another. No way could they open up a new one and admit everyone no questions asked and have it succeed. But then private insurance couldn’t make that work either. Best wishes wherever you end up.
“See what they have done with the U.S. Postal Service?”
You just gave me a great idea. With the gov’t in control of Healthcare, they could shut down the hospitals, old-folk’s homes, ER’s, Etc. on Saturdays and Sundays and save Billions of dollars!
I’m not sure wo IS on TennCare these days but I do know a couple of people who truly should be on it but were dumped. They’re seniors and on fixed incomes, but then that’s WHY they were dumped. No longer “productive subjects”, y’know.
I don’t see how anything involved with ObamaCare is going to succeed. But then, I don’t think it’s meant to. It’s just meant to wreck the country and kill off the weak and the old. I guess that’s the success they aim for.
I agree..it will be a train wreck.
Add the fact that the Feds assumed only a few states would opt out...and more did than expected.
So, yeah, the Feds can set up these exchanges in non-compliant states. I don’t see that happening before the first of next year. It is way do difficult to accomplish.
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