Although the federal health care reform legislation is now a reality, there are over 20 states, including Florida, who are challenging the law in the courts.  But many of those other states are still enacting measures to prepare for the law to actually take affect (scheduled for 2014).

According to the National Council for State Legislatures, 21 states have enacted or adopted legislation or taken official action to form a committee, task force, or board concerning health reform implementation.

Florida is not one of them.

So today members of 34 different groups throughout the state co-released a letter today calling on the Florida Legislature and Governor Crist to form a commission to oversee the implementation of the new law.

Laura Goodhue is the Executive Director of Florida CHAIN, one of those signatories.

“Federal grants are available now to help Floridians reap the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.  We are missing out on funding to provide consumer assistance in navigating the health care system and establish insurance exchanges that will increase competition,” she added. “We need a coordinated effort, not only to take advantage of these new benefits, but also to effectively implement provisions that will improve our health system and bring new coverage to millions of Floridians.”

In the letter, the groups write that the purpose of what they refer to as the ACA (Affordable Health Care Act, as it's officially known as) Implementation Commission would be to:

Identify and catalog ACA provisions that affect Florida, and assess their potential impact

on Florida families and businesses

Develop a plan and timeline for ACA implementation

Determine which entities are responsible for major implementation components, and

establish how these entities will coordinate with each other

Devise strategies to maximize access to new resources and consumer protections

Propose ways to integrate new ACA requirements and resources into the current health

care system

Suggest methods of informing families, businesses, and other stakeholders about the

impact of the Affordable Care Act

Recommend changes in laws and rules necessary to best implement the ACA

This article appears in Aug 5-11, 2010.