White House Says States On the Way to Heath Care Reform - East Idaho News
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White House Says States On the Way to Heath Care Reform

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Thinkstock H 032211 HealthInsuranceCard?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1326972361289Creatas Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Nearly two months before the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the country’s sweeping and controversial healthcare reform law, the Obama administration announced Wednesday that every state in the country has taken some steps to move forward with its plan.

Observers, however, say many of those steps are incremental and that states may not be moving fast enough to meet looming deadlines to implement parts of the law passed two years ago. And also omitted by the administration is the fact that 26 states are suing over what critics call Obamacare on constitutional grounds.

Forty-four states are now participating in a requirement to make insurance companies justify any sky-high, double-digit premium rate increases, according to a new report released Wednesday by the White House.

The report also says 28 states and the District of Columbia are in the process of creating a one-stop shop for health insurance, where consumers could choose from a variety of health insurance plans.  These so-called “exchanges” are a key component of the new law and would allow individuals and small businesses to search for better prices and more options in plans.

[CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REPORT]

“We’re very encouraged by the progress that our states are making,” said one administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

States have until January 2014 to create the insurance exchanges, but officials in some states have expressed reluctance to begin implementing the law until the Supreme Court rules.

Although the issue of insurance exchanges is not directly before the Supreme Court, Republican governors and attorneys general for 26 states argue that Congress exceeded its authority in passing the law, which they say unfairly burdens the states.

The court will hear five-and-a-half hours of arguments over three days in late March.  A ruling is expected by late June.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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