health care reform

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.

The latest shot in the national debate over health care has landed in Colorado. It's called the HOPE Act, or the "Health Care Opportunity and Patient Empowerment Act."

Remember when your mother said, "Try it, you might like it"? Remember how someone you didn't like became a good friend once you got to know them? The point is that your opinion about something is only as good as what you really know about it.

There are a lot of strong opinions about the new health care law. Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion, too.

How much do you know about the new health care law, and how do you compare with other Americans?

The non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation, which has been tracking public opinion about the new health care reforms since the Affordable Care Act passed, recently conducted a pop quiz with 10 true-or-false questions about major provisions in the law.

Less than 1 percent of respondents correctly answered all 10 questions.

This week, Congress is scheduled to vote on a repeal of last year's health care reform law.

Jan. 30, 2012
Here's a chart to help you understand the misunderstood 'individual mandate'

Jan. 11, 2012
Medical loss ratio has potential to bend the cost curve on premiums