Millions of Americans will be poorer without the benefits of health reform after Republican states apply a paragraph of the judgment of the Supreme Court in order to escape administrative responsibilities. About 16 states ruled by Republicans threatened not to implement the clause providing for the expansion of the insurance bill proposed by President Barack Obama two years ago.
Another seven states have criticized the White House program and also indicated that they do not support the statutes of the new health system. If the boycott case materializes, some 11 million people will be out of federal help.
Last week, the Supreme Court ratified much of the regulatory reform of Obama, but clarified that the Oval Office cannot force or fine governments in the case of clause expansion.
This order, virtually suspended by the Supreme Court, required the states to include in the plan help those adult citizens with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level, currently at $14,400 annually.
Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Indiana are among the states that have announced their opposition to the expansion.
Also, Texas, where the law would benefit two million people, said no to the program claiming that its cost would be $27 billion in two years.
Approved in 2010 under the name of the Affordable Care Act, national health reform is presented by the Democratic Party as the biggest political success of the head of state since the federal administration of Harry S. Truman had failed when trying to implement it.
The new regulations, which do not take effect until 2014, force millions of Americans to buy insurance from combined private and government Medicaid under penalty of having to pay a fine to the state.
This controversial paragraph, nearly $1.7 trillion that will be paid by the treasury, led to numerous protests and criticism mainly from the the Republican contingent, until the discontent resulted in a court dispute.
The cost of medical insurance for many Americans in 2011 rose more sharply than in previous years, which offset at the same time any increase in wages.
A study by the nongovernmental group Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that the average annual expenditure of employers for family coverage reached the figure of U.S. $15,073, a figure that represented an increase of 9% compared to 2010.
Source: Prensa Latina
Translated from the Portuguese version by:
Lisa Karpova
Pravda.Ru