WASHINGTON — Sens. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation Thursday to let states apply to opt out of certain aspects of the heath care reform law three years earlier than originally proposed.
The law grants states the right to apply for waivers from some requirements in 2017, but the Brown-Wyden proposal would move the waiver date up to 2014, when the bulk of the health care law takes effect. A state’s waiver would have to ensure that the coverage offered was at least as comprehensive and affordable – and available to the same amount of people – as provided under federal law.
“States shouldn’t be forced by the federal government to adopt a one-size-fits-all health care plan. Each state’s health care needs are different,” Brown said in a statement. “Our bill provides flexibility and allows states like Massachusetts to opt out of portions of the health care law.”
Brown, a moderate Republican, represents a state that passed its own universal health law in 2006. Before the health care reform bill became law in March, Wyden had pushed for a different plan, which he co-sponsored with Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah).
Wyden originally proposed waivers for individual states as part of his health reform plan, and he later attached the provision to the new law as an amendment. Wyden said states should be allowed to pursue their own innovations and tailor their plans to the specific needs of their residents.
The new proposal would speed up that process.
“It doesn’t make sense – especially given the current budget environment – to force states to put off or abandon health care innovations in order to fully implement the federal law,” Wyden said in a statement. “Bumping up the start date means that states can focus on ways to make the new health law work at its best from Day One.”