On his first day as Florida's new House speaker, Rep. Dean Cannon
took a clear shot at President Barack Obama's new health-care reform
law. Easy To Insure ME has the answers
"Should it really be the role of government to require people to purchase a health insurance product they don't want, raise taxes to give that same product to others who can't afford it, and commandeer our state government and its resources to carry it out?" Cannon, a Winter Park Republican, told House members after being sworn in two weeks ago.
"Or, should we work to limit government and empower the private sector?"
On numerous fronts, Florida policymakers have already answered that question.
While the fight against President Obama's health-care reform may be centered in the Beltway, Republican resistance to the sweeping new mandates is also taking shape in Tallahassee. Among the battlefronts:
• Florida led the charge with 19 other states last March by challenging the law in federal court, claiming the mandates that uninsured people buy coverage violated states' rights. A judge in Pensacola is expected to rule shortly after a Dec. 16 hearing on whether the suit can move forward. More states are expected to join after a new crop of state attorneys general are sworn into office in January.
•Last spring, GOP legislators hastily drafted a constitutional amendment spelling out that Florida businesses and residents couldn't be forced to buy insurance, but a Tallahassee judge threw it off the November ballot for "misleading" language. Lawmakers have re-filed an altered version and hope to place it before voters in 2012.
•And perhaps most significantly, legislative leaders are poised to block spending and rules necessary to implement the law. Already, state regulators has refused to impose minimum spending mandates that might generate refunds for consumers – but which health insurers say will hurt their profits. And Gov.-elect Rick Scott has also made clear he doesn't want the state doing anything to help the law along.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last spring anticipated that the states would lead the way on many of its more than 100 changes to the nation's health care system. With 3.8 million uninsured residents, Florida is one of the states that would be most affected by the law.
The most controversial reforms – including the requirement that individuals buy coverage or pay a penalty -- don't start until 2014, and phase-ins continue until 2018. But the bill requires states to start working now to impr
"Should it really be the role of government to require people to purchase a health insurance product they don't want, raise taxes to give that same product to others who can't afford it, and commandeer our state government and its resources to carry it out?" Cannon, a Winter Park Republican, told House members after being sworn in two weeks ago.
"Or, should we work to limit government and empower the private sector?"
On numerous fronts, Florida policymakers have already answered that question.
While the fight against President Obama's health-care reform may be centered in the Beltway, Republican resistance to the sweeping new mandates is also taking shape in Tallahassee. Among the battlefronts:
• Florida led the charge with 19 other states last March by challenging the law in federal court, claiming the mandates that uninsured people buy coverage violated states' rights. A judge in Pensacola is expected to rule shortly after a Dec. 16 hearing on whether the suit can move forward. More states are expected to join after a new crop of state attorneys general are sworn into office in January.
•Last spring, GOP legislators hastily drafted a constitutional amendment spelling out that Florida businesses and residents couldn't be forced to buy insurance, but a Tallahassee judge threw it off the November ballot for "misleading" language. Lawmakers have re-filed an altered version and hope to place it before voters in 2012.
•And perhaps most significantly, legislative leaders are poised to block spending and rules necessary to implement the law. Already, state regulators has refused to impose minimum spending mandates that might generate refunds for consumers – but which health insurers say will hurt their profits. And Gov.-elect Rick Scott has also made clear he doesn't want the state doing anything to help the law along.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last spring anticipated that the states would lead the way on many of its more than 100 changes to the nation's health care system. With 3.8 million uninsured residents, Florida is one of the states that would be most affected by the law.
The most controversial reforms – including the requirement that individuals buy coverage or pay a penalty -- don't start until 2014, and phase-ins continue until 2018. But the bill requires states to start working now to impr
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