States Scrambling to Implement Obamacare

With legal challenges done and President Barack Obama re-elected, states that had adopted a wait-and-see tactic on implementing Obamacare must now scramble to meet deadlines. The first major hurdle comes next Friday when states must decide whether to set up insurance exchanges or let the government do it for them.

According to The New York Times, 15 states and the District of Columbia have so far set up the necessary framework while another three states have decided to partner with the government. A number of GOP led states, including Arizona, Idaho, New Jersey, Virginia and Tennessee, put off the decision until after the election.

“I would expect that starting today there are a significant number of fascinating conversations going on behind closed doors in state capitols all over America,” John McDonough, a professor of public health at Harvard who helped draft the law, told the Times.

The Department of Health and Human Services will soon issue regulations to carry out the law that insurance executives say are necessary to come up with health plans that will be offered in states. The plans are to be available in October 2013 for coverage beginning in 2014, the Times reported.