Obama Announces Support for Legislation to Allow States to "Opt Out" of PPACA Requirements Earlier

President Barack Obama has endorsed a bipartisan Senate bill (S.248) introduced by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Scott Brown (R-MA) that would allow states to opt out of requirements of the health care reform law in 2014 instead of in 2017. To opt out of requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), states must meet certain criteria.

The criteria, outlined by the White House today, would require that states:

• Provide coverage that is at least as comprehensive as the coverage offered through Exchanges.
• Make coverage at least as affordable as it would have been otherwise.
• Provide coverage to at least as many residents as the PPACA would have provided.
• Do not increase the Federal deficit.

This legislation might allow some states to have the option to opt out of the individual mandate requiring every individual to own health insurance in certain circumstances. This legislation could also possibly open the door further to allow states to institute single payer systems within their borders.

Click here to read the White House press release supporting S.248.

Click here to read S.248, the legislation sponsored by Senators Wyden and Brown.

Click here to read a press release from Senators Wyden and Brown on the introduction of S.248.