03/7/2011
Health insurers that overcharge consumers in Florida will not be required to issue rebate checks. This is one of the consequences that are slowly emerging after a federal judge declared void the Affordable Care Act.
Republican state officials, buoyed by the decision of Florida federal Judge Roger Vinson that mandatory insurance is unconstitutional and the whole health act is invalid, have declared that the law is not in operation in Florida.
As a consequence, they will not impose a new rule that require insurers to allot 80% to 85% of premiums on health care services.
They also ignored the federal health reform planning grants worth $2 million, which was intended to help states regulate their insurance industry.
This hard-line position of state officials apparently left the decision to insurance companies whether or not to abide by the health reform rules.
Indiana, Alabama, Arizona, and other red states, are also asserting their right in a manner reminiscent of the desegregation battles during the 1960s.
The red states, in an exchange of letters and columns, have initiated coordinated efforts to slow down, stop, or recreate health reform. These actions run parallel with the Congressional Republicans’ warning to block funding for health and flood federal agencies with document and hearing claims.
In an op-ed piece in Wall Street Journal, the governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, warned, “We represent more than 115 million Americans.” He demanded greater state control over state-based insurance markets.
Daniels also said, “If there’s to be a train wreck, we governors would rather be spectators than conductors.”