WI Should Have Accepted Federal Healthcare Money

It's unfortunate to read that Governor Walker turned down $37 million in federal money to help create healthcare exchanges. I'm unclear whether this means we don't have to implement the exchanges as fast or if this is pure politics.

Governor Walker says he wants to wait until the US Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the healthcare reform law. This seems like a bogus argument because they won't rule he exchanges illegal and the very argument that it's unconstitutional is flawed. I say it is flawed because before any of the reforms went into effect, paying customers subsidized those who couldn't pay and did not have insurance that would pay. The law says people need to buy insurance, pushing those costs from other paying customers to the people actually using the healthcare services. The only reason I can see it being unconstitutional, in my non-attorney opinion, is because the federal government is involved in it. That's a mere technicality since the condition existed prior to the health reform law.

I opposed the healthcare law in the form it passed. It would be a good idea to change it. It has done some good, but it risks creating problems when the rest of it is implemented.

Wisconsin rejecting the federal money, though, is foolish. We should try to make it work and try to pressure Washington to give us more autonomy and let us have a more privatized system. Governor Walker's rejection of the money is wrong and alienates pragmatists and moderates.