Idaho will seek fed money for health care

Gov. Otter agrees to setup health insurance exchange to avoid federal control of program

By JESSIE L. BONNER

   The Associated Press

   BOISE — Idaho will apply for millions of dollars in federal funding to set up health insurance exchanges because dismissing the money could allow the federal government to impose a plan that possibly wouldn’t work for the state, Gov. Butch Otter said Tuesday.  Here I would like to say, Butchie, you are a phony.  You said Idaho didn't need any federal money cause we don't believe in being 'bailed' out.  They you come here and say, "hey, we're gonna take a bunch of money to set up a health insurance exchange."  Which are you Butchie?  For money?  Against money?  You are such a phony.

   “It’s a difficult choice, but one I find far preferable to submitting to a federally established insurance exchange, with all the loss of control over our own destiny that entails,” Otter said in a statement Tuesday.    Under the health care overhaul passed by Congress last year, states must set up health insurance exchanges by January 2014. If a state doesn’t create an exchange by then, the federal government is required to do so.  Difficult choice?  Bull.  The choice was simple.  Take the federal money, or spend Idaho money to set up the exchange.  You know it would be political suicide NOT to accept the money.  Butch, you simply have no idea who you are up against.  Presidents trump Governors every time.  GET IT!

   There is a Sept. 30 deadline for Idaho to apply for about $30 million in grant funding to starting building an insurance exchange, which would offer one-stop shopping for people and small businesses buying coverage directly from an insurer.  You held out as long as you dared.  The people had to poke you in the ass to get you to move, but move you did...I knew you would...cause, you are such a phony.

   “My goal is to establish a state-based exchange emphasizing free-market principles and create a competitive marketplace for individuals and businesses to obtain the coverage they need, rather than imposing a one-sizefits-all solution that may not be suitable or even workable for Idaho,” Otter said Tuesday.  You, Butch Otter, will conform to whatever the federal government tells you to do and you know it ya big ol' phony.

   Idaho is among a number of states suing over the health care law, and state lawmakers in the 2011 session grappled with how Idaho should handle money linked to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  If Butchie had his way, there would be no health care coverage for the working man/woman.  You -- working man/woman -- would have to find your own insurance if your boss didn't provide it for ya.  And, let's face it, nobody who works for wages can afford the cost of private insurance and still feed the family.  When it comes to paying for an insurance premium or putting food on the table, smart Idahoans pick food every time.  Butch, you are such a phony.  You have lost complete control of your constituency.  People want this...only you phony Conservatives are holding back on effective health care for all Idahoans and Americans.

   For example, lawmakers objected to the Idaho Department of Insurance’s $10 million budget for the fiscal year 2012 until the agency removed plans to accept $2.5 million from the federal government to help develop insurance exchanges.

   While many of the state’s Republican lawmakers still object to the federal overhaul, they agreed with the governor last month when he first indicated that Idaho would be shortsighted to pass up the federal dollars to help set up the exchanges.  Ladies and gentlemen, the Insurance commission needs overhauling.  Thank God this came along.  You folks are the beneficiary of a better insurance for your families. 

   Lawmakers reasoned that the state is unlikely to have the money to develop exchanges on its own, given budget constraints, and that Idaho should take the money as long as it doesn’t lock the state into accepting portions of the federal reforms they don’t agree with.

   But that logic doesn’t sit well with all critics of the federal health care reform.

   “A state exchange will keep Idahoans in charge, they claim. They’re dangerously wrong,” said Wayne Hoffman, who heads a free-market advocacy group called the Idaho Freedom Foundation, in an editorial Saturday.  Wayne Hoffman.  Lordy, lordy.  What a Tea Partier he is.  He's just shy of the John Birch Society.  Of course, the Wiener wouldn't like anything the fed proposed for his Pristine Idaho.  I read his column.  He's another phony.  He's not good for Idaho at all.

   “The state can’t create an exchange that is autonomous and independent from Obamacare’s regulations. Were Idaho to do so, the federal government would rule the state out of compliance, demand changes, and if those changes don’t occur, the federal government will still step in and operate the exchange itself,” Hoffman said.  My God, let's hope not!  Does anyone out there think Idaho could set up an autonomous Insurance Exchange?  What the hell does Idaho know about the confusing insurance business?  I trust the fed much more than I do the state to manage health care for me and my family.
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