Apparently, the opt-out will require a 2/3 vote of the state
legislature, with the governor able to veto an opt-out. We don’t have a
link for this yet, but that’s what folks close to the process are
suggesting toBurnt Orange Report.Under this scenario, Texans would be able to participate in the
public option (if they qualify) in 2013. Legislatures would then have
to intentionally deny their constituents insurance by opting them out
of the public option.Importantly, statesCANNOT opt out of the
consumer reforms that will lower costs, prevent rescission, and stop
insurers from denying you coverage for a pre-existing condition. These
reforms are huge in making the insurance companies work harder to
provide care, rather than just pile up profits.Other questions that need to be resolved as we work through the sausage-making process:
- As governorships and legislative control pass between the two parties, can states opt out later on?
- Can a state opt in if it previously opted out?
- Are there different processes for states with unicameral and/or bicameral legislatures?
- Can states pro-actively pass legislation to opt out before 2014?
The question being, should the opt-out survive into the final bill, exactly how many Republican state legislators and governors and two-bit moron politicians are willing to throw their constituents’ lives away to make two-bit moron points on the two-bit moron news? And how many of their constituents are willing to throw their own kids’ lives away so they can go to tea parties and scream about socialism? You wanna bet on the ability of backwards-looking people to cut their own feet off just so they can keep bitching about how hard it is to walk? You wanna bet against that?
A.