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LINCOLN — Gov. Dave Heineman once again mixed politics with pragmatism about the federal health care overhaul Wednesday, while education leaders wrestled over taking a stand on the law.
Heineman blasted the law in a letter urging a group of state senators to call for its repeal.
In now-familiar language, he said the law “raises taxes on Nebraskans, cuts Medicare and causes health insurance premiums to increase.”
But the governor also announced that Nebraska is seeking a $1 million federal grant to plan for a health insurance exchange.
The exchanges are a key component of the massive overhaul law passed by Congress at the end of last year.
A critic called the conflict between the governor's actions and his talk “doublespeak.”
Others said it was sensible to look into a potentially promising idea while opposing other parts of the law.
State Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha said he was glad the governor was taking advantage of the resources available but called his political rhetoric “unfortunate.”
“It's doublespeak, that's all it is,” he said.
Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island said he shares many of the governor's concerns about the affordability of the federal law.
But he said there “may be some wisdom” in studying the insurance exchanges. He said the exchanges, which have been tried in Utah and Massachussetts, have a private, market-based approach that can appeal to conservatives.
The Governor's Office offered the same explanation for the conflict as it has previously:
Heineman opposes the federal law but says Nebraska has to implement it unless it is overturned by the courts. Nebraska is among 20 states fighting the federal law in court.
The governor also has been pushing for repeal of the law, calling it an unfunded mandate that would take money from education.
Several members of the Nebraska Board of Education expressed reluctance Wednesday to single out the new law as a target for repeal, as one member proposed.
But they expressed general frustration at costly programs mandated by Washington without a way to pay for them.
Board member Bob Evnen, a Lincoln attorney, said he plans to revise his proposed resolution calling for repeal of the unfunded Medicaid mandates in the new health care law to address concerns raised by other board members during Wednesday's state board meeting.
The original resolution is scheduled for approval Thursday.
The harshest criticism came from board member Joe Higgins, who said the resolution pitted funding for health care against education.
Higgins said the resolution called upon the board to take “hasty action,” when the exact cost of the Medicaid mandates in the health care law is in dispute.
He said he believed Nebraskans would pay for medical and educational needs of residents, even if that required a tax increase.
Higgins and board members Patricia Timm and Kandy Imes said they would favor a broader resolution expressing the board's concern about unfunded mandates or emphasizing that the board's top priority is education.
“The health care bill from a federal level has put our state in a bind,” board member Mark Quandahl said,
Nordquist and Gloor are members of a legislative committee studying implementation of the health care law.
Committee members sent a letter to the governor Aug. 17 urging him to go after the federal planning grant.
“While we all may not agree with the changes included in the (federal law), as legislators, we must do our best to implement what is now federal law in the the most responsible way possible for our constituents,” they said.
In his response, Heineman suggested “the most responsible approach would be to listen to Nebraskans and support repeal” of the law.
However, he also said the State Department of Insurance had submitted the grant application by Wednesday's deadline.
Health insurance exchanges, which are to begin operation in 2014, are to provide consumers and businesses with “one-stop shopping,” where they can compare and buy insurance coverage.
States can set up their own exchanges or partner with other states in a regional exchange.
The federal government will help establish exchanges on behalf of states that decide against setting one up themselves.
Taking the grant does not obligate Nebraska to set up an exchange but would help the state research and plan its best course under the law, the senators noted.
World-Herald staff writer Joe Dejka contributed to this report.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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