Sun., July 15, 2012 6:15am (EDT)
What's
A Governor To Do With The Health Care Law?
By Julie Rovner GPB
As governors from around the country meet this weekend in
Williamsburg , Va.
Republican governors in particular said they were genuinely surprised by the Supreme Court ruling. The justices declared the health law in general constitutional, but gave states the option of whether or not to dramatically expand their Medicaid programs. They'll now get to choose whether to put most people who earn more than about $15,000 a year on the program or not.
"I think a lot of us, certainly on the Republican side, believed it would be found unconstitutional. So I think it's just added more confusion to the issue rather than settling the issue," said Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, "and probably more impetus on the November election to really find out and sort out what the implications are going to be going forward."
Indeed, the meeting's host, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, said he wasn't planning to say yet whether his state would expand its Medicaid program, even with the federal government picking up the vast majority of the costs.
"Honestly, I don't think it's responsible fully for my state to make a decision now because there's still more information we need," he said.
Many Democratic governors see things differently, however, includingDelaware
"This is not political. This is a financial analysis of what does it mean to cover, in our case, an additional 30,000 people," he said, "and my view and we're clarifying that we're understanding it all properly ... is that this is absolutely a good deal forDelaware
Unlike Republicans, who say the Supreme Court decision confused matters, Democrats likeMaryland
"I think most governors understand that the Supreme Court's decision was a final and clear ruling," he said.
Other Democrats were less charitable.Vermont
"Have a spine. The American people are sick and tired of spineless politicians. [Either] say, 'I believe the Affordable Care Act is the wrong thing, so I will not take the loot,' or say, 'I believe the Affordable Care Act will help my state cover uninsured Americans, grow jobs, economic opportunities, and I'm taking the loot,' " Shumlin said. "But to say, 'I'm gonna criticize the plan, but I won't tell you whether I'm taking the loot or not until after the election,' that's what breeds cynicism among the American people."
O'Malley ofMaryland
"Once the posturing of the election is past, I think that a lot of these governors are going to have a hard time going home to their doctors, nurses, hospitals and explaining to them why they are passing up an opportunity to transform these dollars into better economic uses for job creation in their states," he said.
But for many Republican governors, likeNebraska
"They all say it's free federal money. No, it's not. That's our tax dollars," he says. "It's costing every one of us."
Behind the scenes at the meeting, however, governors did seem to agree on one thing. There are still lots of questions they want the federal government to answer about how they will all work together as the health law's implementation proceeds.
Republican governors in particular said they were genuinely surprised by the Supreme Court ruling. The justices declared the health law in general constitutional, but gave states the option of whether or not to dramatically expand their Medicaid programs. They'll now get to choose whether to put most people who earn more than about $15,000 a year on the program or not.
"I think a lot of us, certainly on the Republican side, believed it would be found unconstitutional. So I think it's just added more confusion to the issue rather than settling the issue," said Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, "and probably more impetus on the November election to really find out and sort out what the implications are going to be going forward."
Indeed, the meeting's host, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, said he wasn't planning to say yet whether his state would expand its Medicaid program, even with the federal government picking up the vast majority of the costs.
"Honestly, I don't think it's responsible fully for my state to make a decision now because there's still more information we need," he said.
Many Democratic governors see things differently, however, including
"This is not political. This is a financial analysis of what does it mean to cover, in our case, an additional 30,000 people," he said, "and my view and we're clarifying that we're understanding it all properly ... is that this is absolutely a good deal for
Unlike Republicans, who say the Supreme Court decision confused matters, Democrats like
"I think most governors understand that the Supreme Court's decision was a final and clear ruling," he said.
Other Democrats were less charitable.
"Have a spine. The American people are sick and tired of spineless politicians. [Either] say, 'I believe the Affordable Care Act is the wrong thing, so I will not take the loot,' or say, 'I believe the Affordable Care Act will help my state cover uninsured Americans, grow jobs, economic opportunities, and I'm taking the loot,' " Shumlin said. "But to say, 'I'm gonna criticize the plan, but I won't tell you whether I'm taking the loot or not until after the election,' that's what breeds cynicism among the American people."
O'Malley of
"Once the posturing of the election is past, I think that a lot of these governors are going to have a hard time going home to their doctors, nurses, hospitals and explaining to them why they are passing up an opportunity to transform these dollars into better economic uses for job creation in their states," he said.
But for many Republican governors, like
"They all say it's free federal money. No, it's not. That's our tax dollars," he says. "It's costing every one of us."
Behind the scenes at the meeting, however, governors did seem to agree on one thing. There are still lots of questions they want the federal government to answer about how they will all work together as the health law's implementation proceeds.
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