While some states are challenging the Affordable Care Act in court and others resist its implementation, The Washington Post reports others are trying to go further than the law requires.
Oregon, for example, passed a healthcare plan which alters how doctors are paid and eventually would allow public employees to enroll in Medicaid, among other changes. According to the news source, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and supporters are trying to secure waivers from the federal government so they can implement their own plan.
Part of the difficulty is that while the Act provides for waivers to exempt states from individual parts of the Act as long as they meet its overall goals, these waivers take effect in 2017. Because most of the law's provisions become effective in 2014, states like Oregon, Montana and Vermont are concerned they may be forced to establish a new system and then change it again three years later.
Some states, like Connecticut, have already abandoned plans that were in the works before the Affordable Care Act was passed, due in part to time pressure. Whether waivers are granted or not, these results may indicate the Act has unintentionally become an obstacle to innovation in some cases.
