Maine gets break in federal health care overhaul

From CNBC.com (March 8):

PORTLAND, Maine - The federal government Tuesday granted Maine a waiver of a key provision in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, citing the likelihood that enforcement could destabilize the state's market for individual health insurance.

The U.S. Health and Human Services department said in a letter it would waive the requirement that insurers spend 80 cents to 85 cents of every premium dollar on medical care and quality improvement. Instead, the letter said, the state could maintain its 65 percent standard for three years, with the caveat that HHS intends to review the figures after two years.

The decision makes Maine the first state to receive a waiver of the requirement. Similar requests are pending from Kentucky, Nevada and New Hampshire. [read more]

First, if Obamacare is the “ideal” health care system then why have any waivers at all? Second, can the other states (like the ones who are suing to get off this oppressive system) have a waiver like this?

And what about this Section 9 (Limits on Congress) in the Constitution:

No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce [my emphasis] or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.

Then again it isn’t the Congress granting the waiver, but still I think that law would apply to gov’t agencies too following the spirit of the law. True, the waiver is only temporary but it would be nice if all states could get a waiver permanently. Only way to do that is to repeal  Obamacare. And the only way to repeal Obamacare is vote people in Congress who will repeal the law and a president who won’t veto the repeal like Obama would.