Alaska governor refusing to enact health care law

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said he will not implement the federal health care overhaul after a judge in Florida struck down the law as unconstitutional.

It's not immediately clear what practical impact the unusual move would have on Alaskans, an estimated 14 percent of which are uninsured year-round. A major expansion of the federal law is still pending, and a legal expert and health care consumer advocate say any refusal by the states to participate in the law is an invitation to the federal government to step in and implement it for them.

Parnell, who sought the advice of his attorney general amid concerns implementing the law would violate his oath of office, told the Juneau Chamber of Commerce the state would pursue lawful, market-based solutions to making insurance affordable and accessible to Alaskans.

He said the Florida judge's ruling is the law of the land, as it pertains to Alaska, barring implementation of the federal law here. He said the state will pursue options of its own instead.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hg5GhnjltZfWBU9yhdCtcjLSj6mg?docId=5b3c7dca30cb4232b8a382dcb50dc43c

[customerserviceguy]

1. Dr. Joel Fleishman is not gonna like this n/t

[savalez]

11. One of my favorite shows - thanks!

[bluestateguy]

2. The judge did not issue an injunction

So now federal bureaucrats will come to Alaksa, shove aside state employees (backed by federal marshalls, if need be) and carry out the law.

[james0tucson]

7. ,

There will not be a precedent that says a state can choose which federal laws to follow. Why not? The end result would be legal marijuana. Governments both federal and state will not allow that to happen.

[Liberal Not Leftist]

9. Actually, this is a tricky issue. Since Alaska was not one of the plaintiffs, they have

no legal standing in this case. On the other hand, Vinson declared the health care law void and stated in his decision that a declarator­y judgment is the functional equivalent of an injunction­. The question is: how can a law be unconstitutional in some states and constitutional in the others?

[bluestateguy]

13. That's a lot of mumbo jumbo

and overintellectualized lawyerly drivel.

it makes no sense.

[Hosnon]

15. Federal law is often different across the country. It's called a circuit split, which only the

Supreme Court can resolve.

[Liberal Not Leftist]

16. Yes, but seldom does a circuit split involve legislation of this magnitude.

How can a company which has operations in split circuits, formulate company policies?

[quakerboy]

18. Maybe in a different time with different leadership

Obama is not the shove it down their throats type.

[Tx4obama]

3. We can add Parnell to the list of govs screwing up, including Walker (MI) and Scott (FL) n/t

[Roy Rolling]

4. tie in

Federal healthcare should be tied into other federal medical assistance so that if short-sighted governors decide not to follow the law, they are stripped of other federal benefits that flow into that state.

[Maine_Nurse]

5. I'm a democrat and a health care worker, but...

this law is going to be an absolute nightmare in some parts of the country. I'm sure some places will find it great, but others are really going to be screwed. I don't know Alaska's specific situation since I haven't lived there in quite a while, but given its rural nature and long distances between "cities" and such, bud I'd tend to believe that they, like Maine, are going to have a very difficult time of the new law in 2014.

[jwirr]

12. Why? How is it going to be any different than Medicaid and Medicare?

You go to the county social services and sign up for the program. Then you go to the hospital/clinic nearest to you for services just like with any other program. I also live in a rural area and wonder what exactly you are thinking about?

[Maine_Nurse]

17. Medicaid/Medicare is our problem here. And the way our state administers it.

We only have 1.3 million population. Nearly 600,000 of those (probably higher by now) are on Medicaid or Medicare, with the split being about even. The Medicaid is the biggest problem since the state is 3-5 years behind in paying providers (hospitals, etc) and they pay a very low rate (and Medicaid patients make up the bulk of all care given here). For years this has resulted in layoffs and even entire hospital departments being closed. We also have few real private practice docs and the number is dwindling because of this. On top of that, many of the private practice docs that do exist refuse to take Medicaid and that percentage is growing. You just can't make a living when you might not get your sub-standard pay for a few years.

The nicer estimates say we are looking at another 50K, a 20% increase) patients being enrolled in Medicaid once 2014 rolls around. That is just going to make the state's dismal payment record even worse and we'll see a huge increase in care being delivered. If, that is, you can find anyone to provide that care.

[jwirr]

21. That sounds like a state problem rather than a Medicaid/Medicare

problem. However, I hear what you are saying. Poverty areas tend to have poor services due to lack of personnel and lack of support from the outside. We are close enough to Duluth to be able to use their doctors and many of us use Duluth clinics as our primary care doctors because we have the mass transit systems that allow us access. One area we have the problems you are talking about is the emergency rooms. Our local ones are staffed by GPs and nurses. There are no specialists on call because most people needing specialized care are taken to Duluth. Recently I have been having pleurisy problems and ended up in the ER two times to make sure I was not having a heart attack. They diagnosed me as having pneumonia because there was no radiologist on call. If I had been taken into Duluth there would have been a radiologist on call.

Our state uses the smaller rural hospitals as care centers and specialized care radiates out from Duluth where needed. For instance surgeons who are based in Duluth come to rural clinics one day a week.

As to not paying for services - I don't think even Pawlenty had to guts to refuse to pay for more that 6 months - which has been the norm for decades.

Thank you for sharing what is happening inside the programs.

[nalnn]

23. We have the same

Problem in Mississippi. Approx. half of the population utilize those services.

[james0tucson]

6. tie in

What should flow into that state is an army of federal agents whose mission is to ensure that federal laws are enforced.

[Dappleganger]

8. Fine, withhold all that Federal money they take in from the rest of us.

Every. damn. cent. Don't they get more of a payout than they pay in anyway?

Fuck them!

[SoapBox]

10. One word...RECALL!

Wake up Alaska...Wake up America.

RushThugs and T.HaterBaggers want you to DIE QUICKLY. Period.

[Freddie Stubbs]

20. It would only take 64048 signatures to get that on the ballot

[Hosnon]

14. He's wrong, and getting bad legal advice. It's *possible* that were this the only decision on the

issue, it would be binding (because the DoJ binds the nation). However, there are conflicting decisions nationwide. At best, each of these opinions is binding in their own individual districts, with the status quo being the law of the land elsewhere.

[The Nexus]

19. I don't get it. Was there a suspension in the injunction?

I thought the judge voided the health care law.

[pulledpork]

22. "market-based solutions"

Which is what got us into this mess. They have a faith in that concept which rivals religious fundamentalism.