IQ expert Jason Beans: What happens if the Republicans dismantle ObamaCare?
Jason Beans
Q: On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidates have talked about getting rid of “ObamaCare.” What will happen with health care if a Republican becomes president and “ObamaCare” is dismantled?
A: In theory, talking about the “dismantling” of ObamaCare is a powerful sound bite for a Republican politician. But in reality, it’s not a foregone conclusion. Many factors could come into play to prevent that from happening. Here are three very real scenarios:
1. Full repeal — To “repeal” a law requires the passage of a new law. If the U.S. Senate remains controlled by Democrats, it could be hard — if not impossible — to “repeal” the federal health care reform law. Remember how hard it was for Democrats to pass the law in the first place, with a majority in the House and Senate and a Democrat in the White House? If any of those branches would have been in Republican control, the law would have not have passed. A full repeal likely would face the same hurdles.
2. Attack approach — A likely, effective tactic would be to attack unpopular sections of the law or to not allocate money to carry out the law. Wielding control over the law’s financial mechanisms would make effective implementation of the law virtually impossible.
3. Review requirement — In June 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of the law. The key provision being reviewed is the mandate for most Americans to buy health insurance. Without this requirement, ObamaCare would be financially indefensible; therefore, this Supreme Court ruling is critical.
Many of the requirements and costs of the health care reform law have been pushed to the state level. As they await the Supreme Court ruling, some states are behind on carrying out the requirements or have not even started. Furthermore, some states lack the funding to carry out the requirements. Stay tuned.
Jason Beans is CEO of Chicago-based Rising Medical Solutions, a medical cost containment/care management company serving the workers’ compensation, group health, auto and liability markets. Beans founded Rising in 1999. Since then, Beans has received a number of honors, including Business Council Advisory Man of the Year and Midwest finalist for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Rising has appeared several times on the Private Company Index’s Top 10 Growth list and Inc. magazine’s Inc. 5000 list.
Beans earned a master’s degree from MIT’s Entrepreneurial Masters Program and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Boston College.
For more information, visit www.risingms.com.
If you have a health insurance question for Jason Beans, please send it to john.egan@insurancequotes.com.
