With all the news of Wisconsin and Libya, this item got little coverage.

President Barack Obama said Monday that he may let some U.S. states opt out of the sweeping healthcare reform plans that he signed into law last year, a move that could be calculated to salvage one of his signature pieces of legislation from state-by-state legislative and judicial challenges.

Indeed, about half of the states in the union have already filed lawsuits against the federal government, saying that certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are unconstitutional. The issue that generates the most heat is the individual mandate, which requires citizens to purchase health insurance , often from private providers.

A bill currently stands in the Senate which would allow states to opt out, and Obama supports the passage of the bill, as do members of both parties.

"I think that's a reasonable proposal. I support it," the president said today. "It will give you flexibility more quickly, while still guaranteeing the American people reform."

The exact effect on the American public and the legislative process remains to be seen - indeed, Americans are singularly ill-informed about this sweeping law. According to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, fully 48 percent of the nation either think the law has already been repealed or aren't sure. Over a fifth of the country is positive - and completely incorrect - in believing that the repeal has occurred.

Read more: http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-02/president-obama-makes-major-healthcare-concession.aspx?storyid=59676#ixzz1GGCq7Zrh


Hmmmm ... If they all op out? ....

why would they? there are many who WANTED the reform, and I imagine in those states where they are prevelant, those taxpayers will not want to be OPTED out

Yes. Some of those states, like Oregon and, I believe, Vermont, are seeking to opt out in order to create their own single-payer system. I think this is a fantastic development. It's just about everything I could have asked for. Those states that like giving all their money to the Insurance industry may continue to do so, while the rest of us get to live in the 21st century.

I wasnt aware they were interested in single payer,, thats pretty cool.

It's still just talk, and there's a lot of resistance from the right side, but it's a possibility.

Here's an article from the Cato Institute that tells what Obama is up to

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/obama-offers-states-flexibility-to-adopt-single-payer-instead-of-obamacare/
The folks at Cato really hate this!

I get it

whats going on isnt working,, here is what we are gonna do, you dont have to do it if you got a better plan..



sounds more than reasonable to me, the way 'bargaining' should be done

We'r getting some news on this here in Oregon. The Affordable Health Care for Oregon Bill seems to have some real legs here.

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/03/oregon_senate_health_committee.html

There are some large demonstrations igoing oni n Salem right now.

I just heard in the local news that this is going on in 20 states, including Vermont, California and Hawaii.

awesome, awesome, same ends, just a different source,,,

Not surprising, since one of the corporate mafias that fund it is the Koch Bros. One of the Kochs was a Cato 'founding father'. One would think that a truly libertarian organization would support the basic right of association, for people to band together to bargain for a better living.

In most surveys, 70 % of the people asked think what is going on in Wisconsin is just plain wrong and looks like a Machevellian trick to cheat the little guy, keeping him/her living in a malleable state of quiet desperation.

-Kerry O.

i don't care for any of it... I know a number of people who can't afford any health care rates on any of the proposed systems, with the exception of some preventative care, but no treatments


its all well and good for middle class to wealthy income levels

but for joe shmoe that diner cook and his associate suzie Q the waitress and a number of others...

they barely make it with the pay they have now let alone docking it for healthcare.....

oddly enough this is also the income class with the most health issues....

are we going into a socialistic type of government where the states or federal government will find a way to make this bill even feasible for the rapidly increasing number of people with low income or no income at all?

I've already seen changes in income levels and qualifications for medicaid, three years ago status quo in texas was if you made more than 150 dollars a month (children excluded, but did affect their parents) you could not qualify for medical assistance unless you were pregnant....

it has now changed but not yet sufficient to aid a large margin of the texas population

with serious lack of funds for other much needed assistance (child care assistance in texas has been on hold for now months due to lack of funding), but oddly food stamp benefits have risen significantly as of fall 2009... and stayed there, for now

Yes!!!! (although it depends on the state).

with Texas's reputation, that doesn't surprise me. I don't think you need to worry about Texas opting out of Obamacare in order to pursue single-payer.

but i'm not fond of the obamacare thing either...especially since welfare, healthcare, and illegal immigration are so closely intertwined in this state its almost ridiculous...granted that runs into a whole other topic of convo...

the entire thing is ridiculous...

Alot of us liberals don't like Obamacare, either!

Obama is reversing himself on Obamacare because ...

A. It was a primary reason the Republicans took over the house.

B. It was shoved down the throat of America without any respect for the opposition. The opposition in the House is now doing the same to him.

C. One of Obama's biggest promises was that it would lower medical costs. The opposite has proven to be true with many companies dropping coverage for employees as insurance rates have dramatically increased. The truth cannot be hidden with false promises since the facts of what the public is now paying is of record.

D. There is a very high probability it will be overturned by the US Supreme Court.

E. The bill was written largely by the insurance industry to benefit the insurance industry. No matter what medical expenses cost, the insurance companies are guanenteed to make a profit up to 20 percent.

F. No system that covers many people who do not pay anything can cost less. The promise that the new bill would not pay for illegal aliens was false and hollow from the start and the potential cost of covering millions of non paying non citizens is now openly viewed as cost prohibitive.

Personally, I think Obama is seeing his legacy evaporate and is trying to salvage whatever he can from a fatally flawed bill.

the above made me smile

That might be considere a possibility, except that it's inconsistent with what he said. He supports opting out from Obamacare so long as the alternate plan covers everybody and has all the same benefits of Obamacare. I haven't heard him say any of the things you cite.

for a moment i felt like i had walked away from the conversation and had thusly forgotten what it was about...then it clicked

why would he publicly cite those things? He is a politician, regardless they aren't key to publicly deface themselves short of contradictory statements and policy or those photos no one talks about....

This is an attempt to buy time, and undermine the portion of the bill that makes it unconstitutional...

Buying time will allow federal regulators with the responsibility for portions of the bill to 'intwine' it into the current structure in such a way as to make it hard to remove.

Undermining the 'unconstitutional' argument might slow its introduction into the SCOTUS schedule.

No it isn't. It's an opportunity to allow the states to take advantage of an opportunity to opt out in order to pursue their own single-payer system. This is a very promising movement in 20 states. It should be a wonderful system. People who like sending all their money to the insurance industry can move to those states that like that system while the rest of us can move into the 21st century.