GOP Governors Say They Will Not Implement Costly Law
By Tia Mitchell, Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau // July 13, 2012
Healthcare policy
(VIDEO: By FloridaGOP)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Based on the prospect of ousting Barack Obama from the White House and capturing a majority of senate seats in November, some Republican governors are vowing not to enact the major provisions of Obamacare until the dust clears from the elections.
The Supreme Court ruling last Thursday created a dilemma for states by making the law’s expansion of Medicaid optional. The Court ruled that budget-challenged states can refuse to participate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) expansion of Medicaid coverage for millions of low-income people.
In the provisions of the original PPACA, governors who did not expand their Medicaid rolls would have lost all federal dollars for the program.
States can now choose not to cooperate — and not face a penalty — but that means turning down the federal government’s offer to fund the bill through 2016.
As reported in the article excerpted below from the Miami Herald, after carefully reviewing the 193-page ruling, Florida Governor, Rick Scott, who led the major legal effort against the healthcare law, has joined other prominent Republican Governors such as Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) Chairman Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Perry of Texas and Scott Walker of Wisconsin in not yielding to ObamaCare.
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court upheld it Thursday, many conservative governors and members of congress believe that there is no urgency and that the ultimate disposition on the law will be made based on the results and aftermath of the November elections.
McDonnell, considered a possible Republican vice presidential nominee, said in a statement, “The only way to stop Barack Obama’s budget-busting healthcare takeover is by electing a new president.” And, Jindal said, “We’re not going to start implementing ObamaCare–we’re working to elect Mitt Romney.”
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott says Florida will not begin implementing the federal health care law because he believes it is bad policy and too costly.
Scott told Fox News he believes the law should be repealed, hopefully by a new president elected in November. But even if that doesn’t happen, he said, Florida will not set up a health-insurance exchange or participate in an expansion of Medicaid.
“We’re not going to implement Obamacare in Florida,” Scott told Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren on Friday night. “We’re not going to expand Medicaid because we’re going to do the right thing. We’re not going to do the exchange.”
CLICK HERE to read the complete story on MiamiHerald.com.
