The Florida House has soundly rejected a Medicaid expansion compromise that even supporters admitted had its flaws and was seemingly doomed to fail almost from the start.
The bill, which tore apart the regular session as the House and Senate bitterly disagreed, was voted down 72-41 Friday after a rousing, nearly seven-hour debate during which nearly 60 lawmakers spoke. It was an attempt by the Senate to draw down $18 billion federal dollars and give it to hundreds of thousands of Floridians to purchase private health insurance instead of putting them in the regular Medicaid program.
But Republicans insisted it would still expand President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and increase the federal deficit. Even supporters acknowledged the bill would cover far fewer people than the 800,000 who are eligible. Gov. Rick Scott was also strongly opposed.
Hawaii’s health insurance exchange announced on Friday that it will be shutting down, and its nearly 40,000 enrollees will be transitioned to the federal Obamacare marketplace, Healthcare.gov.
The private, nonprofit Hawaii Health Connector, which has been embattled from its inception, has not generated “sufficient revenues to sustain operations,” according to the office of Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D).
The state invested $130 million in the Connector, but the exchange has been plagued by low enrollment numbers and technological issues, making it noncompliant with the federal requirements outlined in the Affordable Care Act.
“It was a failed project,” state Sen. Sam Slom (R) told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “It was a boondoggle from the very beginning, and our residents deserve better than that.”
According to Hawaii Health Connector CEO Jeff Kissel, Hawaii’s health exchange will become a state-run exchange that uses HealthCare.gov, which is similar to the setup in Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) says President Obama will veto any ObamaCare contingency plan Congress sends him, even if the Supreme Court cripples the law.
Congressional Republicans are working on backup plans in case the high court rules later this month in King v. Burwell to invalidate subsidies that help 6.4 million people afford health insurance in 34 states using the federally run exchanges.
Republicans in Congress have repeatedly promised they will have a plan if the Supreme Court rules that an estimated 6.4 million Americans can’t get health insurance subsidies from the federal government.
Though the GOP has not reached a consensus – and few if any details are discussed in public – there is plenty of activity behind the scenes, as disparate groups in the House and Senate work to at least unify around an opening bid.
Public support for Obamacare tied its all-time low in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll – even as most Americans say the Supreme Court should not block federal subsidies at the heart of the health care law.
With the high court set to rule on the latest challenge to the ACA, the poll reflects the public’s split views of the law – criticism of its insurance mandate, yet support for extended coverage.
Overall, just 39 percent support the law, down 10 percentage points in a little more than a year to match the record low from three years ago as the Supreme Court debated the constitutionality of the individual mandate. A majority, 54 percent, opposes Obamacare, a scant 3 points shy of the high in late 2013 after the botched rollout of healthcare.gov.
Public support for Obamacare tied its all-time low in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll
– even as most Americans say the Supreme Court should not block federal subsidies at the heart
of the health care law.
With the high court set to rule on the latest challenge to the ACA, the poll reflects the public’s
split views of the law – criticism of its insurance mandate, yet support for extended coverage.
Overall, just 39 percent support the law, down 10 percentage points in a little more than a year to
match the record low from three years ago as the Supreme Court debated the constitutionality of
the individual mandate. A majority, 54 percent, opposes Obamacare, a scant 3 points shy of the
high in late 2013 after the botched rollout of healthcare.gov.
It may be easier than expected for states to save their ObamaCare subsidies, if the Supreme Court rules against the law this month.
Two states — Pennsylvania and Delaware — said this week they would launch their own exchanges, if needed, to keep millions of healthcare dollars flowing after the decision. Both want to use existing pieces of the federal ObamaCare exchange, like its website and call center — a path that would be far less costly than the way most other states have created their exchanges.
If those plans win approval, many of the other 36 states that stand to lose their subsidies could then pursue a similarly simple strategy.