Speaking to reporters today, incoming Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said he was hopeful about the incoming GOP-run House of Representatives in one way. If they “put their money where their mouth is,” and give more flexibility to the states, they’ll make his job easier.
The context: the Affordable Care Act
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, put there by Kitzhaber’s senator, Ron Wyden, which allows states to get waivers and duck the federal mandate to buy health insurance. I followed up and asked specifically if the incoming governors were looking for waivers, and they were. Both Kitzhaber and incoming Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said they had met today with Donald Berwick and were looking for waivers that would allow them to pursue their own progressive health insurance reforms. Shumlin said that he ran on a promise to bring single-payer health care to Vermont; that’s what he was seeking.
