By Brian Sikma

With the clock running out on the fall regular session and key legislators holding up passage of an Obamacare compliance bill, two top state officials are speaking out against Obamacare. Dennis Smith, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and Ted Nickel, the commissioner of insurance, issued a joint press release on October 31 chastising the federal government for the Patient Provider and Affordable Care Act. The statement came after the two officials sent several extensive letters to federal agencies commenting on proposed regulations regarding the implementation of Obamacare.

Secretary Smith asserted that, “PPACA itself is full of conflicts, inequities, and inconsistencies.” According to him, the proposed federal regulations “cannot cure the underlying problems of PPACA.” The underlying problems inherent in PPACA have been the cause for concern that led some Wisconsin state lawmakers to oppose AB 210, the bill that would voluntarily align Wisconsin law with PPACA mandates.

The state currently faces a new $45 million shortfall in healthcare related spending as a result of federal unwillingness to pay for a mistake made at the federal level in implementing a disability program. That sticking point may have been in the back of Secretary Smith’s mind when said that the vague and incomplete approach of PPACA leaves the state vulnerable to fiscal problems. “We are also deeply concerned about definitions regarding federal reimbursement that will create a crater in future state budgets.”

Expressing baffled frustration at federal incompetence in providing Wisconsin, and other states, with clear and specific instructions for compliance, Smith declared PPACA to be “unworkable.” “Congress and the Administration need to reconsider PPACA, as the fundamental design is unworkable as evidenced by the regulations themselves.” This is a point that Media Trackers has raised repeatedly with respect to AB 210 and Obamacare compliance here in Wisconsin.

Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel offered his own concerns saying, “Neither PPACA nor the proposed rule do anything to protect Wisconsin’s competitive market.”

Just days before the these two top officials declared that there is no way for Obamacare to be implemented successfully, several think tanks expressed similar concern about Obamacare in Wisconsin and took aim at the idea of a Wisconsin health insurance exchange.  Kendall Antekeier of The Heartland Institute told Media Trackers that state policymakers would be the ones held responsible for the widely acknowledged failures of Obamacare if they implemented a state-based exchange.

“If states implement an exchange, it will be the names of local officials being held responsible for the implementation of a beyond poor health system. States should allow the federal government to be held responsible for the system bound to fail.”

Some have argued that if only the Obama administration would grant states an unspecified amount of flexibility, an exchange could be built that is consistent with consumer interests and free market principles. That idea is a fiction. The Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon told Missouri lawmakers who were debating the establishment of an exchange that the, “responsible course is not to create an Exchange.”

Immediately after commenting on the irresponsibility of establishing an exchange, Cannon took his criticism a step further declaring, “To implement this health care law, to create an Exchange, is to violate their [lawmakers'] oath of office.”  Strong language, but language that Wisconsin policymakers would do well to heed as they consider their next step in reviewing the state’s health insurance and healthcare system.

The American Legislative Exchange Council has also weighed in on the matter of state exchanges passing a resolution urging state legislators to vehemently oppose any health insurance exchange proposals. Republican state Senator Leah Vukmir and other Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin have worked with ALEC – a group demonized by the left for some of its free-market oriented views.

With top executive branch officials declaring Obamacare “unworkable,” and numerous independent groups respected by Wisconsin lawmakers saying that a health insurance exchange is a very bad idea, Wisconsin is well positioned to lead a national fight against voluntary state compliance with Obamacare. The lines have been drawn, Wisconsin has indicated that it will stand for healthcare freedom, and the days to come will provide ample opportunity for decision makers to act on their stated positions.