New governors to target health law

From Janet Adamy of The Wall Street Journal on Nov. 5:

Newly elected Republican governors are planning to blunt key parts of the federal health overhaul and join lawsuits against it, suggesting states could trump Congress as the hottest front in the fight over the law.

Republicans recaptured at least 11 governors' seats from Democrats in Tuesday's election, winning in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Tennessee, New Mexico, Iowa and Maine. Democrats reclaimed at least two seats from Republicans, in California and Hawaii.

House Republicans have pledged to repeal the law, which is designed to expand insurance to 32 million additional Americans, or at least choke off funding to implement it. Democrats in the Senate can block any repeal, and the defunding strategy faces roadblocks.

While governors can't avoid much of the law, they can throw sand in its gears and keep states out of involvement in a central part of it—new exchanges for selling insurance policies.

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