In 2007, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) passed the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) which helps Hoosiers who do not qualify for Medicaid to enroll in individual health-savings accounts. The program was so popular that the state had to suspend enrollment (because of federal regulations) a number of times. Today there are about 45,000 Hoosiers enrolled in the plan. It is a model of state-based patient-centered health care reform. But now Obamacare is, of course, threatening to destroy this system. The Evansville Courier & Press reports:
Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to use the Healthy Indiana Plan as a vehicle to deliver coverage to Hoosiers who in 2014 will become eligible for Medicaid under the new federal health care law.
He has asked federal officials whether that will be possible. Daniels directed a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and said he wants an answer by the end of February. Indications thus far from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are that the governor’s request is likely to be denied.
It is completely antithetical to the First Principles of this nation that a federal bureaucrat in Washington should have the power to destroy a perfectly functioning state health program on a whim. But that is exactly what Obamacare does, and a recent proposal by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Scott Brown (R-MA) would do nothing to fix it. Heritage Foundation Center for Policy Innovation Director Stuart Butler writes in The New England Journal of Medicine:
Another major problem with the bill is that since ultimate waiver authority rests with the HHS secretary, the waivers granted would probably reflect the administration’s preferences. Senator Wyden claims that his legislation would allow conservative states to opt out of much of the ACA and implement consumer-driven coverage. But he admits that the secretary, not the state, has the final word over what is permitted. … The Wyden–Brown legislation is thus much less than meets the eye. In practice, it will not grant the states, especially conservative ones, the degree of flexibility that Wyden claims, nor will it defuse state resistance to major parts of the ACA.
The only path to real health care reform, one that allows for flexibility at the state level, begins with the full repeal of Obamacare.
David Rivkin, lead attorney in the Florida (and Multi-State) health care lawsuit case, was the first lawyer to identify the law as unconstitutional. He initially said ObamaCare did not pass the smell test and finally the rest of America is waking up. Now Doctors, Economists, and Colleges are coming together to stop this monstrosity of a law to be fully enacted! It's unconstitutional and we must replace this bill to what the framers of the Constitution see fit and true!
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Bobbie,
Do you have any ideas to fix the problems in our current healtcare system? Is 40 million americans uninsured ok with you? Instead of all attacks do you have solutions?
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This is in response to Gabriel's comment. From all the reading I've done on this topic, I've learned that this number of 40,000,000 is not accurate and the number of uninsured people who truly can't afford coverage is probably closer to 12,000,000. This "40 Million uninsured" number that the administration likes to use includes people who choose not to purchase insurance either because they are young and healthy or because they are wealthy and will just pay for their own health care themselves. It also includes illegal immigrants (whose healthcare needs are overwhelming many city hospital emergency rooms because they can't be turned away).
Wrecking an excellent if somewhat imperfect system to insure roughly 12,000,000 million or so Americans (who may qualify for healthcare under Medicaid) and turning doctors into defacto government workers and stifling innovation in the research and development of new drugs and technology is like using a bazooka to kill a housefly.
Plus it's absurd that a 3000 page health care law does nothing to address tort abuse. Since the democrats' biggest donors are trial lawyers, I won't hold my breath on it!
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/real-number-u…
Free Market solutions.
Gabriel, why do you put insurance over health care? Why do you think anyone has the ability to control the decisions of others? instead of all attacks, why don't you have any honest solutions that consider personal responsibilities, that considers freedom of the people and that considers human liberties? Why do you rely on government to think for you?
Bobbie,
Which free market solutions? Do you mean the ones we have had for the last 60 years? Specific free market solutions? You seem to be the expert here so explain in detail how to fix our Healthcare problem. Again, Is 40 million americans uninsured ok with you? 40 million is from the census bureau after taking away 10 million for illegal immigrants, The number of uninsured americans was actually around 50 million and that was 2009, 2010 will be higher here is the source- http://www.census.gov. Try again Cathy. Instead of all attacks do you have solutions Bobbie? If so, lets hear them. waiting….
Good call, Cathy. You are absolutely correct. Gabriel is more concerned everyone is insured at a cost, over the personal responsibility of good health. Gabriel is a bit humbled since her love of government is being beaten down by the love of freedom.
Oh my gosh Gabriel, you may be of the male gender? I apologize.
Male you may, be but for certain, you're no man.
Thanks for the compliment, though!
Bobbie,
Cathy is incorrect and I provided the soure to prove it. Bobbie, what is your solution for healthcare? How do we fix 40 million people in this country uninsured? Do you have anything of substance aside from personal attacks? wating…Did you even bother to look at the source? Do you even read my comments? Will you now say that the http://www.census.gov is a product of liberal government and dismiss that as a credible source? You arguments are getting weaker and weaker, try harder.
"the state had to suspend enrollment (because of federal regulations) a number of times" – only because of Bush Administration imposed caps!
See my comment here:
http://www.gopideas.com/page/mitch-daniels-free-m…