art credit: before it's news
According to the Congressional
record the HCC [Health Care Compact] would give "primary
responsibility for regulation of health care to the state. Federal and state
laws remain in effect in a member state until suspended by the state. A
member state is responsible for federal funding obligations that remain in
effect in the state. Each year, a member state is entitled to federal funds
equal to the total federal spending on health care in the state during FY2010,
adjusted for inflation and population." It turns federal funds into
what amounts to a block grant, leaving states free to create, cooperate and
compete.
The HCC specifically does not
affect the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. "The compact
establishes the Interstate Advisory Health Care Commission to collect
information and data to assist member states in their regulation of health
care. The commission may make non-binding recommendations to the member
states."
That would ironically make it
an ideal vehicle for states like Vermont or California whose voters are largely
opposed to the Trump administration to roll their own health care and
effort in which other like-minded liberal states can join them. HHS
nominee Tom Price's rhetoric suggests he would have no objections in principle
to taking Washington out of the picture. In a quote cited by the Wall Street Journal Price said: “We think it’s
important that Washington not be in charge of health care,” the six-term
congressman said in an interview this summer. “The problem that I have with
Obamacare is that its premise is that Washington knows best.”
The general tenor of an Obamacare
replacement plans emphasize giving consumers money to pick and choose policies
instead of forcing them to consume Federally prescribed products.
. . .
The HCC like so many other dark
horses in this year of unexpected upsets is now a real player. Too many
impossible things have taken place for anyone to easily dismiss anything out of
hand now. The next few weeks will give a clearer indication of where
health care policy is trending. But one thing is for sure. The long
shot's not such a long shot any more.
The
article includes a key quote from (gasp) the New York Times. Read it and the
rest of Fernandez’s article here.
The last time Cleveland Tea Party reported on the Ohio Health Care Compact was October 2015, when the House in Columbus passed the bill. At that time, it was headed for the Senate. Perhaps the time has come.
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