Washington says phase in health-care reform, or else

[Freddie Stubbs]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

WASHINGTON — If Florida leaders refuse to carry out the new national health-care law, Uncle Sam is prepared to take charge on behalf of the state’s consumers.

One year after President Barack Obama signed the health-care overhaul into law, federal officials are urging Florida and other reluctant states to shape it to meet their needs and to take advantage of millions of dollars of federal planning grants. Failure to participate, officials warned this week, means a loss of state control.

Florida and other states, for example, must show by 2013 they are set up to provide a health-insurance exchange, an online service for consumers to compare coverage plans and shop for affordable rates. If states are unwilling or unprepared, the law requires U.S. officials to step in and make a federal-run exchange available for residents at the start of 2014.

But Florida Gov. Rick Scott — backed by fellow Republicans in the Legislature who strongly oppose “ObamaCare” — has refused $2 million in federal planning money and ordered state agencies not to implement the law. In addition, Florida has challenged the law in federal court, in a lawsuit filed before Scott was elected in November.

Read more: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/03/washington-says-phase-in-health-care-reform-or-else.htmlO