Health Care Overhaul - ObamaCare
Health care overhaul shifts to the fast track
After long battle, implementation is a reality; states face key decisions soon for ObamaCare.
President Barack Obama's election victory Tuesday all but assures that his landmark health care overhaul will be implemented, effectively putting an end to the Republican campaign to derail the law.
Starting in 2014, millions of Americans should be able to obtain health insurance for the first time.
"It's all over but the shouting," said Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack, an influential consumer advocate and champion of the law. "What was very questionable at the start of the year has been settled.... The Affordable Care Act will be a permanent fixture of the American health care system"
That outcome puts pressure on many Republican state leaders who fought it. They must decide within days whether to implement it or have the federal government- do it for them.
Tuesday's results also present Obama with a new set of challenges as he tries to fulfill the law's promise.
Federal and state officials must create systems to handle millions of new insurance customers. Key will be setting up insurance marketplaces, known as exchanges, in every state by October.
Health insurance companies, hospitals, employers and other interest groups are gearing up lobbying campaigns to modify the law, parts of which threaten to push up health care costs.
Also unclear is how the administration will contend with GOP governors who continue to resist the law and may spurn hundreds of billions of federal dollars to provide insurance coverage.
Some states, including Texas and Florida, have indicated they will not open their Medicaid programs in 2014 to cover all low-income citizens; many now exclude childless adults, for example. Most states — including those with Republican statehouses — are expected to expand Medicaid because the law provides billions of dollars in federal money.
The President could face more resistance if insurance premiums and other medical costs continue to rise in coming years, undermining a pledge he made in pushing for the overhaul.With control of the House, GOP lawmakers could continue to push proposals to roll back parts of the law.
Administration officials insist they will not delay implementation of the law, which will allow Americans coverage when key provisions of health care law kick in.
Flexible spending accounts: Limits medical expense contributions to tax-sheltered flexible spending accounts to $2,500 a year, with annual increases based on cost-of-living adjustments.
After long battle, implementation is a reality; states face key decisions soon for ObamaCare.
President Barack Obama's election victory Tuesday all but assures that his landmark health care overhaul will be implemented, effectively putting an end to the Republican campaign to derail the law.
Starting in 2014, millions of Americans should be able to obtain health insurance for the first time.
"It's all over but the shouting," said Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack, an influential consumer advocate and champion of the law. "What was very questionable at the start of the year has been settled.... The Affordable Care Act will be a permanent fixture of the American health care system"
That outcome puts pressure on many Republican state leaders who fought it. They must decide within days whether to implement it or have the federal government- do it for them.
Tuesday's results also present Obama with a new set of challenges as he tries to fulfill the law's promise.
Federal and state officials must create systems to handle millions of new insurance customers. Key will be setting up insurance marketplaces, known as exchanges, in every state by October.
Health insurance companies, hospitals, employers and other interest groups are gearing up lobbying campaigns to modify the law, parts of which threaten to push up health care costs.
Also unclear is how the administration will contend with GOP governors who continue to resist the law and may spurn hundreds of billions of federal dollars to provide insurance coverage.
Some states, including Texas and Florida, have indicated they will not open their Medicaid programs in 2014 to cover all low-income citizens; many now exclude childless adults, for example. Most states — including those with Republican statehouses — are expected to expand Medicaid because the law provides billions of dollars in federal money.
The President could face more resistance if insurance premiums and other medical costs continue to rise in coming years, undermining a pledge he made in pushing for the overhaul.With control of the House, GOP lawmakers could continue to push proposals to roll back parts of the law.
Administration officials insist they will not delay implementation of the law, which will allow Americans coverage when key provisions of health care law kick in.
Flexible spending accounts: Limits medical expense contributions to tax-sheltered flexible spending accounts to $2,500 a year, with annual increases based on cost-of-living adjustments.
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