"I’ve been clear from the very beginning that I do not believe a one-size-fits-all health care program works for the entire country and that each governor should have the ability to make decisions about what works best for their state. Today’s Supreme Court decision is disappointing and I still believe this is the wrong approach for the people of New Jersey who should be able to make their own judgments about health care. Most importantly, the Supreme Court is confirming what we knew all along about this law – it is a tax on middle class Americans.”
Christie obviously isn't paying attention to what is going on around the county. Minnesota, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Montana are all in various stages of endorsing a single-payer system. The California legislature kept passing bills for state single-payer health care but Governor Schwarzenegger wouldn't sign them.
Last year Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed into law a bill establishing a single-payer health care plan for the state, making Vermont the first state to do so. The law is set to take effect in 2014.
In order to accomplish this Vermont will need to secure a waiver from the Affordable Care Act because under that law states are not permitted to opt out to implement alternative plans until 2017 as long as those plans provide equally comprehensive, affordable insurance coverage to at least as many residents as the Affordable Care Act provides. And these plans would have to do so while insuring that they would not add to the federal deficit
In February of this year President Obama supported the idea of moving that date up to 2014.
Senate Bill S. 248 and House Bill H.R. 844: The Empowering States to Innovate Act are designed to accomplish this.
Christie could look for an alternative for the people of New Jersey also. But Chris Christie has no ideas. He has no other plan. Just a lot of criticism for the man who finally was able to accomplish something that no other president has been able to accomplish.
Reform health care.
