ObamaCare to debut in Calif. – will it fly?

An expert on healthcare policy thinks ObamaCare must fail in at least one state at taxpayers’ expense before Democrats realize it won’t work.

California will lead the nation in implementing the new healthcare law with a $10-billion plan, approved by the Obama administration, to grant citizens Medicaid waivers. The new policy will withdraw from federal funds that have been set aside for Medicare. But even though the administration knows it must put a cap on spending, no comment has been made about the new law.

Sally Pipes, president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Research Institute (PRI), says California is likely to see a huge tax increase as the state struggles to keep up with the costs of ObamaCare. She decides the only way Governor-elect Jerry Brown (D) will “abide” by the upcoming changes is by increasing taxes on working Californians. “I think a lot of successful people in California are going to say they’ve had enough,” she suggests. “We’ve already seen a lot [of people] move out to Nevada and Arizona.”

Even though officials maintain that the Medicaid waiver will aid in covering state citizens who make less than $14,000 annually, Pipes argues it will hurt seniors tremendously as they already have difficulty finding doctors because of the low Medicare reimbursement rate.

“It’s going to be interesting, because [most of] the states, which pay anywhere from one-third up to a half of the cost of Medicaid …are in very difficult financial situations and they don’t have the money in order to pay more out in Medicaid,” she explains. “So I think there’s going to be a real problem developing.”

Since the new healthcare policy was implemented just before the midterm elections, the PRI president suspects the Obama administration was trying to advance its agenda in the state. So with a Republican majority about to take its place in the House, she thinks GOP officials must find ways to defund parts of ObamaCare until it is completely defeated.

Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.

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