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Independence, MO —
The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified much, but by no means all, about the health-care reform.
The court on Thursday substantially upheld President Obama’s health-care program approved by Congress two years ago. The court’s close 5-4 vote, as it turns out, parallels the country’s own divided opinions about the practicality of the plan and the philosophical questions about how deeply government should be involved in the economy and individuals’ lives.
Those debates are far from over, but Congress and the court have set the country on a path toward change. The 835,000 Missourians who lack health insurance are a step closer to having something affordable and valuable available to them.
States such as Missouri will now have to move ahead with health-care exchanges, one of the Obama plan’s main means of extending access to care and controlling costs. If states don’t set up their own exchanges by 2014 – on their own terms, tailored to their citizens’ needs – then the federal government will do that for them.
Our leaders in Jefferson City decided to put that on the ballot this fall. This follows the symbolic vote in 2010 when 71 percent of Missourians said no to the mandate to buy health insurance – an issue placed on the ballot despite the fact that state laws don’t override federal laws, and this state’s leaders know that full well. Missourians loudly and clearly got their “heck no” on the record, but that’s about it.
This time around, leaders are asking voters to make it a good deal harder for Missouri itself to set up its health-care exchange. That’s an odd position given that the result would be more, not less, federal involvement in Missouri policy making. Expect this debate – among many others – to heat up as November approaches.
The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified much, but by no means all, about the health-care reform.
The court on Thursday substantially upheld President Obama’s health-care program approved by Congress two years ago. The court’s close 5-4 vote, as it turns out, parallels the country’s own divided opinions about the practicality of the plan and the philosophical questions about how deeply government should be involved in the economy and individuals’ lives.
Those debates are far from over, but Congress and the court have set the country on a path toward change. The 835,000 Missourians who lack health insurance are a step closer to having something affordable and valuable available to them.
States such as Missouri will now have to move ahead with health-care exchanges, one of the Obama plan’s main means of extending access to care and controlling costs. If states don’t set up their own exchanges by 2014 – on their own terms, tailored to their citizens’ needs – then the federal government will do that for them.
Our leaders in Jefferson City decided to put that on the ballot this fall. This follows the symbolic vote in 2010 when 71 percent of Missourians said no to the mandate to buy health insurance – an issue placed on the ballot despite the fact that state laws don’t override federal laws, and this state’s leaders know that full well. Missourians loudly and clearly got their “heck no” on the record, but that’s about it.
This time around, leaders are asking voters to make it a good deal harder for Missouri itself to set up its health-care exchange. That’s an odd position given that the result would be more, not less, federal involvement in Missouri policy making. Expect this debate – among many others – to heat up as November approaches.
