On Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said she was still "disappointed" by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June, which called the Affordable Care Act constitutional. She went on to lament the fact that the bill never would have passed Congress if it been sold as a new $4 billion tax on the American people.
"In this case, the Constitution's limits on government power did not fail," Bondi said at the Florida Chamber of Commerce's annual insurance summit. "Political accountability failed because the president and supporters of this law apparently were not straight with the American people."
It's that attitude that continues to concern Florida health-care advocates, and today representatives from 20 such groups sent a letter to Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, requesting that her department begin the implementation of a health care exchange and that it be transparent and accountable with meaningful public participation.
The letter calls for HHS to do four things regarding Florida and the Health Care Act:
1. HHS should impose reasonable limits on state flexibility in order to ensure predictability that is essential to planning, public education, and outreach efforts.
2. HHS should conduct a reality-based assessment of the capacity of a state to perform its proposed responsibilities within any proposed Partnership Exchange model, and be prepared to require that Florida default to an FFE initially if that is the only viable option.
3. HHS should ensure/require full transparency and ongoing opportunities for meaningful public participation in all exchange-related program and policy decisions, regardless of whether Florida is served by a Partnership Exchange or an FFE.
4. HHS should establish and enforce strong accountability standards in the areas of public participation, consumer assistance and protection, and Qualified Health Plan performance.
