Joel Ario Discusses with Politico Next Steps in Health Reform After Election
"Now, the Real Test of 'Obamacare' Begins"
Politico
November 6, 2012 - Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health Solutions, spoke to Politico about how health reform is likely to proceed now that the 2012 U.S. presidential election is over.
Politico reports that "Obamacare" will live on, given President Obama's reelection. States have until November 16 to tell the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services whether they will set up exchanges in time for the January 2014 launch, apply for "partnerships" where the federal government and states divide up the exchange functions, or let the federal government step in fully.
So far, 13 states and the District of Columbia have said they'll definitely set up their own exchanges, and there are "somewhere between 20 and 30" states that could either build them or seek partnerships, said Ario. The rest will let the feds do it.
The Obama administration would like to keep the number of federally run exchanges low because it's a strain to run too many. Ario predicts HHS will look the other way if some states need time to finalize their applications.