2012 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Health Care
John Hickenlooper:
2012: Make healthcare both affordable and accessible
In the [state-of-the-state] speech, we eased into one of the more challenging items or us to get through the legislature. The previous year, we had created the Colorado Health Insurance Marketplace; now, with Congress utterly gridlocked in a feud over
ObamaCare, we needed funding for it. The legislators had an idea this was coming, and I conveyed as much when I said that making Colorado the best place for entrepreneurship also meant we must have "health care that is both affordable and accessible."
Source: 2012 State of the State, in "The Opposite of Woe," p.283
May 24, 2016
Deval Patrick:
Replace fee-for-service model with quality-of-care model
We can do more to control health care costs. Nearly a year ago, after lots of study and broad consultation, I asked you to act on a plan to control the rising costs of health care. Hospitals and insurance carriers have reopened their contracts and cut
rate increases, in some cases by more than half. The market is moving in the right direction and that's very good news. But it is not enough.We need to put an end to the "fee-for-service" model. We need to stop paying for the amount of care, and start
paying instead for the quality of care. We need to empower doctors to coordinate patient care and to focus on wellness rather than sickness. And we need medical malpractice reform.
I believe that with
these tools and the right oversight, we can slow the growth in health care costs significantly. Just as we have to make the progress to this point, I am confident we can do this the right way.
Source: MA 2012 State of the State Address
Jan 23, 2012
Nikki Haley:
Medicaid is a broken system; federal mandates cause problems
Our number one health care problem in this country was its high cost--the way to provide better health to our citizens was not just massively expanding a broken system by giving it more government money. Medicaid is that broken system--there is too much
waste, too much fraud, and too little focus on prevention and personal responsibility. And almost all of those problems are caused by the mandates of the federal government. But here in South Carolina, we are tackling the root causes of our problems, not
just the symptoms. We are shifting towards Medicaid managed care, which saves us money and delivers better quality than traditional Medicaid. And we are giving managed care companies a financial stake in improving quality year after year. No longer will
S.C. bear the costs of poorly managed health care alone. We will continue to push back against the federal takeover of our health care system. South Carolina does not want, and cannot afford, the President's health care plan. Not now, and not ever.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
Nikki Haley:
No government-run health exchanges; transparency instead
South Carolina does not want, and cannot afford, the President's health care plan. Not now, and not ever. To that end, we will not pursue the type of government-run health exchanges being forced on us by Washington.
Despite the rose-colored rhetoric coming out of D.C., these exchanges are nothing more than a way to make the state do the federal government's bidding in spending massive amounts of taxpayer dollars on insurance subsidies that we can't afford.
We will have no part in that. Instead, we will continue to fight to increase transparency between patients and doctors and doctors and insurance companies and to get South Carolinians invested again in their health care .
As a nation, we can no longer allow ourselves to be divorced from the true cost of our health care--and in South Carolina, we won't be.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address
Jan 18, 2012
Susana Martinez:
$45M more in Medicaid; $8M more for nursing homes
Rather than using the surplus to grow government, I propose safeguarding it by using it to make targeted reforms--investments in our future to help struggling students, to make
New Mexico more competitive with job-creating tax reforms, and to maintain a safety net for our most vulnerable.As we continue to do more with less, we must never forget that our budget is a statement about our values.
That's why my budget invests $45 million more in Medicaid, providing health care for the poor and the disabled. Federal Medicare cuts are threatening to close nursing homes, leaving patients, parents, and grandparents with nowhere to go.
We promised to be there. That's why my budget includes $8 million to keep that promise and keep those nursing homes open.
Source: 2012 New Mexico State of the State Address
Jan 17, 2012
Dave Heineman:
Don't spend money on ObamaCare until Supreme Court decision
The new federal health care law raises taxes, cuts Medicare and contains an enormous unfunded Medicaid mandate. Because it is the current law, our state is moving forward with the planning and designing of a state health insurance exchange.
Our state has been working hard for nearly two years to protect Nebraska's interests, and I want to assure you and our citizens that Nebraska will not default to the federal government regarding a health insurance exchange.
However, it is important to recognize that the United States Supreme Court will decide whether this law is constitutional or not by June 29 of this year. In an unprecedented move, the Supreme Court will have three days of oral arguments on this
issue in late March. The simple truth is it would be a costly mistake to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to begin implementing Obamacare until the United States Supreme Court makes its decision.
Source: 2012 Nebraska State of the State Address
Jan 12, 2012
Andrew Cuomo:
Implement the N.Y. Health Exchange with federal funds
Almost 16% of New Yorkers under the age of 65--2.7 million people--are uninsured. Most are working people and their dependents. We have a unique opportunity to address this challenge by developing a New York State Health Insurance Exchange that will be
financed entirely by the federal government. When the Exchange is implemented, more than one million New Yorkers will gain health coverage and individuals who currently buy their coverage directly will see their cost drop by 66%. Small businesses will
see the cost of providing coverage to their employees drop by 22%.In addition to the benefits to the uninsured and small businesses, the Exchange will benefit New York's taxpayers. The $1.7 billion that taxpayers currently contribute to offset the
cost of providing care to the uninsured will be significantly reduced. The increased federal Medicaid match that recognizes New York's higher Medicaid eligibility levels will bring an additional $18 billion in funds to the state over 10 years.
Source: 2012 New York State of the State Address
Jan 4, 2012
Page last updated: Aug 10, 2019