President Obama signals support for flexibility for states in implementing health law

In the first of a new bi-weekly column for Kaiser Health News, HSPH’s John McDonough analyzes President Barack Obama’s recent decision to give states more flexibility to implement the new health insurance reform law. By announcing his support of legislation introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., to allow states to begin work earlier on devising replacement insurance coverage plans that meet key conditions for comprehensiveness and affordability, the president opened the door for future negotiations with Republicans, McDonough wrote. This demonstrates that President Obama is “thinking longer term about the measure’s prospects than the current congressional session,” he wrote.

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