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Opinion from one of our subscribers in Weber County

Friday, December 7, 2012 - 8:00am
Jim Albertson
Health Care Exchanges

 

Our editorial board asked our Governor, Legislators and us to “Work with feds on (healthcare) exchanges.” And tells us the act is the law of the land and we should accept. I know this editorial staff would like us to think that the law is settled. However, most of America thinks not.

 

The editorial board seems to forget that even after the Obama administration rolled out all of the positives about the law, like young

people staying on their parents health plan until age 25 and changing preexisting conditions, while at the same time omitting what’s yet to come, that 57% of the general public still opposed it. In addition, ten of the 18 new taxes are yet to start. Now that the public gets to pay the ten new taxes and the young people will have to start paying a fine if they don’t signup for healthcare, I wonder how many will oppose it then?

 

Many of us still remember how this law was jammed down our throat, and now we know just how true Nancy Pelosi’s famous statement of “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”  As more and more of the law comes to light like the mandate that forces all employers to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization and contraceptives in their employee health care plans, regardless of religious objection, we see how this amoral administration is steamrolling religious freedom. As news sources report its no wonder more than 100 plaintiffs have joined legal challenges to the mandate.  This is only one of the many obtrusive mandates yet to come. How many more will be costly, demoralizing, amoral or attack religion and other traditional American freedoms?

 

Now, the editorial board wants our polls to work with the feds to setup health exchanges which many say is the backbone of the Act. The clear headed thinking from some 30 republican governors is that this mandate is just more intrusion of federal power on, and excessive cost to, the states. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin recently said that the “State” exchanges are in name only, that the power lies in the federal government and not in the states. Therefore, he told the Feds “no.” Some twenty governors have made the decision to just tell the feds “no.” In Utah’s case, the state in good faith set up one of the first “exchanges” but the feds say it doesn’t meet their regulations for control and cost paid by the state. It’s becoming clearer with every action by this administration that they think the State’s have little or no rights on how they run their state or care for their citizens.  All of this belies the facts that this law is so undefined that even the liberal editorial board said twice that HHS head Sebelius, “has been very slow” on answers for the states. Its easy to suspect why the administration is slow. Its because when the truth comes out we will find it is costly, it takes away state’s rights and will violate many state’s principles.

 

Let’s not forget the States originally created the Federal government not vice verse. I encourage and support our legislators and the

governor in thwarting this poorly thought out law. Utah needs to decide how to provide healthcare to its citizens not Washington. The

57% plus of Americans need to stand up to the wishful thinking of the liberals and the outright bullying of the federal government that this law is settled. Its not, and each state must stand up and say so.