health care reform

Published online by San Luis Valley Health.org

By Colorado Public News
By Michael de Yoanna

The prospect of the U.S. Supreme Court throwing out the new health care law after it hears the case this month has Colorado Republicans planning alternatives – and Democrats keeping silent.

By Michael de Yoanna
Colorado Public News

The prospect of the U.S. Supreme Court throwing out the new health care law after it hears the case this month has Colorado Republicans planning alternatives - and Democrats keeping silent.

The stakes are high: Without the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or any other major changes in health care, the average annual family health premium could hit $22,000 in the next seven years, according to an economic study called "The Future of Colorado Health Care."

By Michael de Yoanna
Colorado Public News

The prospect of the U.S. Supreme Court throwing out the new health-care law after it hears the case this month has Colorado Republicans planning alternatives – and Democrats keeping silent.

The stakes are high: Without the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or any other major changes in health care, the average annual family health premium could hit $22,000 in the next seven years, according to an economic study called "The Future of Colorado Health Care."

Two years ago today, President Obama signed legislation that created the Affordable Care Act. In recognition of the anniversary, here are some facts about heath reform, courtesy of Families USA.

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act:

From the beginning, there was little doubt that the minimum-coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act, also known as the individual mandate, would end up in the Supreme Court. That provision requires most American citizens and legal residents to purchase a minimum level of health insurance coverage from a private insurer or pay a tax penalty.

By Bob Semro

Businesses, labor unions and even entire states have been granted waivers exempting them from one provision of the Affordable Care Act. Opponents of the national health care reform law argue that these waivers are evidence that the new law is onerous and impractical. They also suggest that waivers were granted out of favoritism and that less-well-connected business and organizations will have to pay more to make up the difference.

Those criticisms are misleading and do not reflect the reasoning behind the waivers.

The future of national health care reform under the Affordable Care Act may hinge on a single provision in the new law. The individual mandate, or the "minimum essential coverage provision," requires most uninsured Americans to purchase health coverage or pay a tax penalty. The big question is whether the individual mandate is constitutional.

(Web page on BallotPedia.org; Bob Semro's work also cited on Health Care Compact page)

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: Governor Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 722 into law yesterday, making Oklahoma the second state to join an interstate compact that allows states to assert more control over their health care systems.(1) Georgia Governor Nathan Deal approved a similar version of the health care compact on April 20.

Many people don't realize that the budget proposal put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April, is the also the most significant piece of health care legislation since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Even though the Ryan budget plan as now constructed is not likely to become law, it represents an official alternative and warrants real debate. Most of the conversation has centered on changes to Medicare, but the impact on other federal health care programs and the Affordable Care Act itself are even more profound.