Obama’s Offer To Governers: Propose Alternative Health Care Law

Could something good finally be coming out of this new healthcare mess?  On second thought, maybe not.

President Obama offered Monday to let states design their own alternatives to the federal health care overhaul provided they fulfill certain goals.

Speaking to a gathering of the nation's governors, Obama opened the door for any

state executives who think they can tackle rising health care costs and coverage barriers better than he can to step up to the plate and try it. The catch, Obama said, is that their plans would have to achieve at least what his administration claims the federal overhaul achieves with regard to coverage and cost.

"If your state can create a plan that can cover as many people as affordably and comprehensively as the Affordable Care Act does, without increasing the deficit, you can implement that plan and we'll work with you to do it," Obama said.

via Obama Offers to Let Governors Propose Alternative Health Care Law - FoxNews.com.

Is the offer too good to be true?

The offer is not as sweeping as it may sound at first. In fact, the law already allows states to propose their own framework for health care. But under the law, states cannot offer their plans until 2017. The president said Monday states could submit their ideas three years earlier, in 2014. The idea to move up the date for state experimentation was originally pitched by Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who proposed it in legislation.

"I think that's a reasonable proposal, I support it," Obama said Monday. "It will give you flexibility more quickly, while still guaranteeing the American people reform."

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expanded on the plan in a column on the White House blog. She stressed that no matter what options states propose, all Americans would still be protected from "the worst insurance company abuses."

"As a former governor, state legislator, and insurance commissioner, I know the ingenuity of state leaders to shape policies that fit the individual characteristics of their people, their industries, and their economies," Sebelius wrote.

Obama spoke Monday to governors in town for a meeting of the National Governors Association. Many of them are openly hostile to the federal health care law. About half the states are suing to overturn it, targeting its unpopular requirement that most Americans carry health insurance or face fines from the IRS.

via Obama Offers to Let Governors Propose Alternative Health Care Law - FoxNews.com.