The 129th General Assembly is barely a week old, and already State Representatives Barbara Sears (R-Sylvania) and Ron Maag (R-Warren County) have introduced a bill (HB 11) to prohibit Ohio departments from enforcing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (inelegantly referred to as “Obamacare”), unless it is pursuant to an act of the General Assembly, and the affected agency submits a report to the General Assembly with the following information. [For brevity, the word enforce below means to “implement and enforce” in each instance.]
- A citation from the federal Act requiring the department to enforce the provision,
- A list of waivers or options available to the state under the provision,
- The steps the department would have to take to enforce the provision,
- What individuals would be affected if the department enforced (or did not enforce) the provision,
- The cost to the State of Ohio or its citizens of enforcing the provision, and
- A list of consequences to the state if the department or agency does not enforce the provision.
This bill does not duplicate the Ohio Project’s proposed Constitutional amendment exempting Ohioans from the requirement to purchase health care coverage. The Ohio Project is still circulating petitions for that amendment, which it expects to place on the November 2011 ballot.
I have included HB 11 on a new legislative spreadsheet, which may also be accessed from the Legislative Action tab above..
4 comments:
Is this really a big deal Harold? What provisions of Obamacare would really be stopped because we would not have a state agency enforcing it?
I'm disappointed the legislature doesn't make the Ohio Project a priority.
It appears to be a feeble token beginning, but nonetheless a beginning.
Bill:
Click to enlarge the diagram here. Note that at lower center, how much flows out of the buff square piece marked "Medicaid Agencies" (in Ohio, Job & Family Services), and the four similar symbols at upper right (to the right of "Essential Health Benefits Packages."
The states might not be able to completely derail Obamacare on their own, but they certainly could throw a wrench into the machinery.
Point taken Harold. As Charlie says, it's a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, it's far less than what the people would like from the new GOP legislature.
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