10th Amendment – States Rights – Will States Resist Obamacare?

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Gov. Rick Perry, raising the specter of a showdown with the Obama administration, has suggested in numerous interviews that he would consider invoking states’ rights protections under the 10th Amendment to resist the president’s healthcare plan, which he  has said would be “disastrous” for Texas.

Perry has said his first hope is that Congress will defeat the plan.  But should it pass, Perry has predicted that Texas and a “number” of states might resist the federal health mandate.

“I think you’ll hear states and governors standing up and saying ‘no’ to this type of encroachment on the states with their healthcare,” Perry said. “So my hope is that we never have to have that stand-up. But I’m certainly willing and ready for the fight if this administration continues to try to force their very expansive government philosophy down our collective throats.”

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Editor’s Note: The mainstream media is not reporting efforts underway by several states to explore alternatives to Obamacare.

Public Option Could Calm Pricing – A Silver Lining?

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“Whether health reform passes or not, there will be some lasting effects that will help. Health Reform has raised awareness that all Americans are not equal in what they get charged for medical services, and sometimes the range of difference is shocking. The recent system of phony discounts that had the effect of propping up inflated health charges is starting to crumble. ”

“If there is a Public Option, especially which would have a negotiated payment rate for providers, any Public Option rate will quickly be adopted by the private sector as the new Usual & Customary standard payment schedule for everyone. Unlike Medicare, which was always seen as a discounted program, a negotiated Public Option rate would have the credibility of the federal government standard of a fair acceptable rate for regular people. Would providers object and try to balance bill? Perhaps at first, but telling a patient that the amount negotiated in good faith between providers and the government is a bogus rate is awkward. This will not happen overnight, but the public and the politicians are recognizing that there is some pricing funny business going on.”

– Fred Hunt, President, Society of Professional Benefit Administrators

Editor’s Note: Preferred Provider Networks will become extinct. Discounts based on inflated and obnoxiously high billed charges are a joke. The Disco Discount Generation, like America’s Greatest Generation, will pass into history as a brief footnote.