Alaska's governor SP v. 2.0 won't implement federal health overhaul in Alaska

[Blue_In_AK]

http://www.adn.com/2011/02/17/1708795/parnell-rejects-federal-health.html

JUNEAU -- Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell said he will not implement the federal health care overhaul because 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 whom 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.

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While the ultimate decision is likely to rest with the U.S. Supreme Court, for now, the overhaul is the law of the land, contends Timothy S. Jost, a professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

"This is one renegade judge that has reached this decision," he said. In refusing to participate in the law, he said, Alaska "is really the outlier" among states.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said currently states have an "enormous amount of discretion" in how they implement provisions of the law. If the governor refuses to exercise that, the federal government will have the say, he said.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2011/02/17/1708795/parnell-rejects-federal-health.html#ixzz1EGUBb1ba



And when the federal government steps in, Sean will sue them AGAIN because that's what Alaskan governors love to do. Sue the federal government, waste a lot of money, and lose in the end. Brilliant.