One of the big issues coming up this year in the General Assembly will be implementing health care reform from the Affordable Care Act. Assuming that President Obama is re-elected, the General Assembly will only have a few months to act and set up state a health care exchange- or else the federal government will take over.
Let me repeat that- we only have a few months before the federal government will step in and take over.
A health exchange run at the state level would be set up by the General Assembly and would be used as a right wing laboratory nationwide. You can guarantee they would ban any providers from the exchange who covered any sort of abortion procedures. Given the number of customers and money to be made in the exchange that would drive every Virginia insurance provider away from any abortion coverage. I could go on and on, but every dumb right wing idea that comes out of a conservative think tank in Washington D.C. would sail through Richmond and Virginia would be the laboratory for it.
On the other hand, Virginia could take no action and the federal government would take over our exchange. A set of career federal bureaucrats managed by Obama appointees would set the terms of the exchange based on real data, not political junk in Richmond.
Which system do you think would do more to protect the best interests of Virginia's citizens?
The biggest thing standing in the way of Virginians and this much better health exchange is a clueless Democratic Party in this state.
Democratic legislators are pushing hard for Virginia to enact an exchange. Press releases are flying to try to push the Governor to action.
This is a political disaster on multiple levels.
There is no way the GOP could design an exchange that would get tea party support. That means the *only* way one could be passed into law is with a coalition of Democratic and Republican legislators- the GOP caucus could not sustain unified Democratic opposition to the state running this health exchange.
In other words, the Democrats are in the driver's seat here. They can block a Virginia exchange and ensure that the public gets the best possible outcome with a federal exchange.
Hopefully the Dems won't blow it and bail the Governor and Republicans out. If the GOP wants to run the exchange out of Richmond then let them come up with the votes to do it.
Excellcent political strategy, if not a model of clarity in expression thereof.
Posted by: Thomas | August 01, 2012 at 01:01 PM
You need to be careful what you wish for when it comes to socialized medicine, Benjie. What happens one day when you are messing around with you "Beloved" Joey and then he sticks a gerbil up your fat ass? You will be told by some government bureaucrat that you have to wait ten months before they will allow you to go to a doctor to get this treated. Government-run medicine won't be such a good idea then, will it? By the time you realize this it will be too late!
Posted by: Lulu U. Parsnips | August 01, 2012 at 02:25 PM
Lulu: An insurance exchange is not socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is when the government controls the hospitals and doctors are employees of the state. An insurance exchange is like a stock exchange expect people are buying insurance from private companies. Under the Affordable Care Act, doctors are still still private employees (or self-employed) and insurance is still a profit making enterprise for corporations. Ben never once mentioned ANYthing about socialized medicine.
Posted by: HeritageDems | August 01, 2012 at 03:21 PM
Daring the Republicans to design a health exchange is an invitation to see them tear themselves apart, and turn every doctor, hospital and health care worker in the state Democratic.
Posted by: Frank Fairfax | August 01, 2012 at 05:14 PM
Why does the governmnet have to design a health care exchange? Why can't some online entrepenuer or business start up do this much the way its done within the travel and hospitality industry?
The concept of the exchange is sound, but when the governmnet gets involved it becomes inhernetly unfair and tilted towards the big companies that can donate large amounts of money to buy the politicians to write the rules in their favor.
What has the government every done to make anyone think that they can manage a health exchange "fairly?"
Posted by: Chris | August 01, 2012 at 06:01 PM
Chris, the big companies have worked together to stop a company from doing this by refusing to participate.
Posted by: Not Larry Sabato | August 01, 2012 at 06:04 PM
Ben, my problem is the big companies will bastardize an exchange whether its gov run or not. That is the problem. Most don't mind much of Obamacare because it eliminates the small competitors that might have been able to undercut them.
The problem is all the lemmings are out there making Chic-fil-A into some bizarre Waterloo moment and people are actually focused on what is killing us.
Like I said, I actually think exchanges aren't a bad idea. There just has to be a way to allow the free market to dictate it.
Posted by: Chris | August 02, 2012 at 09:34 AM
Chris: Exchanges are created to put small/large insurance companies on the same platform. Large companies have a huge advantage over smaller companies because they have more resources to advertise. An exchange takes out those advantages because the consumers are only going to see each plan set right next to each other.
Ben: There probably isn't need for so much concern over a state-run exchange. The Feds will release a list of required services that must be offered in all exchanges. If abortion is not among the required list - it'd be strange that they include it in an exchange that they operate.
I posted a response here: http://progresscountry.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/why-a-state-run-exchange-is-still-the-better-option-13/
J. Madison
Posted by: Progresscountry.wordpress.com | August 02, 2012 at 02:50 PM