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babylonsister

(170,963 posts)
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 07:04 PM Jan 2013

The White House calls Utah’s Obamacare bluff


The White House calls Utah’s Obamacare bluff

Posted by Sarah Kliff on January 3, 2013 at 4:10 pm


For months now, Utah has put the White House in a sticky spot on Obamacare.

snip//

Utah initially told the Obama administration that this is how the Utah exchange works now, and will work in the future.

“Please instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to certify the current Utah version of an exchange as compliant with the Affordable Care Act,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert wrote in a Dec. 10 letter to President Obama. “You have supported giving flexibility for states. Certifying our current exchange will give us that flexibility.”


That strong statement had many health policy observers expecting that the White House would turn down Utah’s application to run an exchange, given that the program they operate now is not compliant with the Affordable Care.

Thursday afternoon, however, the opposite happened: The Obama administration approved Utah’s application to run an exchange. So did the White House cave? Not really. Rather, Utah decided to run its exchange more in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.

The Obama administration responded to Gov. Herbert’s Dec. 10 letter swiftly. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wouldn’t approve the Utah exchange, but she would offer her office’s help in getting the state to become Obamacare compliant. It was a sort of kill-them-with-kindness strategy.


snip//


Still, Utah and the Obama administration seem to find themselves in an unexpected, and exceedingly peaceful, space: They’re in agreement about how the state should move forward on the health-care law.

For the real wonks, here’s the full text of Utah’s 72-page health exchange blueprint:


@ link~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/03/the-white-house-calls-utahs-obamacare-bluff/
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Cha

(295,926 posts)
2. Thank you, babylonsistah!
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 07:51 PM
Jan 2013

Sounds like the beginning of a smart play by Utah..Bless HHS Sec Kathleen Sebelius' kind heart

annabanana

(52,791 posts)
4. "It was a sort of kill-them-with-kindness strategy."
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 08:19 PM
Jan 2013

If it works.. go for it! The better established it gets, the clearer the road to fixing the flaws.

TygrBright

(20,733 posts)
5. This is VERY smart. By offering the GOPpie Goobs some political cover...
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 08:38 PM
Jan 2013

...he's allowing them to quietly slide out of the ideological corners many of them have painted themselves into.

Yes, it might be more satisfying to rub their noses in it and play a high-profile hardball/hardass position, but that would end up with much less favorable outcomes for the people of those states being held hostage by posturing goons-er-Goobs playing to the teapeanut gallery.

Allowing them to save face in public gives him way more leverage to turn the screws behind the scenes to get some real, meaningful concessions on the exchange issue.

Speaking as a resident of the state being held hostage by our GOPpie Goob, Texas Susie, this gives me some hope.

interestedly,
Bright

siligut

(12,272 posts)
8. Have to wonder if the increased oversight that Obamacare will bring is the big concern
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 09:36 PM
Jan 2013

The most criminal medical care systems I have seen are in Florida and Utah.

yodermon

(6,143 posts)
9. Much as we love to hate on the the red states, they still have real live human being living in them
Thu Jan 3, 2013, 11:45 PM
Jan 2013

and are just as deserving of health care as everyone else.

bluestate10

(10,942 posts)
10. Believe it or not, Utah is probably the best red state to have running it's exchange
Fri Jan 4, 2013, 12:18 AM
Jan 2013

in accordance with the ACA. While the government there is conservative, with typical thinking limitations of that philosophy, by and large, it lives up to agreements once it make them. We won't see southern state type trickery to cause ACA to look bad.

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