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WASHINGTON - Americans overwhelmingly want the president and Congress to get to work on a new bill to change the health care system if the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama's 2010 overhaul as unconstitutional, a new poll finds.

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Poll: Political leaders should work on new bill if Supreme Court throws out Obama health law

SALT LAKE CITY Utah is taking action on federal health care reform regardless of an upcoming decision expected from the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The timeline is marching on, but we don't have all the rules of the game yet," said Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville.

A federal directive requires states to select a single essential health benefits package, or guidelines for a minimum coverage plan, by this fall or one will be selected for them. Dunnigan said the deadlines loom even without a final decision on health care reform.

As chairman of the state's Health System Reform Task Force, Dunnigan led a statewide public hearing Tuesday to gather opinions on health insurance coverage under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

Defining a baseline for coverage is an important step toward compliance for the state's Health Exchange, which began enrolling employees of small businesses in Utah during a test phase in 2009. It currently provides more than 140 health care coverage options to more than 7,000 individuals and their dependents.

Exchange director Patty Conner said the state will move ahead with its exchange with or without federal health reform, as it has served as "a good value to the state." She said 30 percent of the population benefiting from the exchange did not previously have coverage from an employer.

An extensive marketing campaign to increase awareness of the exchange and draw in additional small businesses will begin next month. The service may also be expanded to include individuals and larger employers who have up to 100 employees, Conner said.

As part of compliance, the state must choose from 10 potential benchmark plans designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. They include top performers in the private and public sectors, as well as plans offered to federal and state employees.

"Affordability is the key to allowing access," said Kelly Atkinson, executive director of the Utah Health Insurance Association, who spoke at the hearing. "The more expensive insurance is, the less people will avail themselves to be insured."

Dr. Ray Ward, a local family physician, said he can easily learn what is covered within one system, but dealing with the intricacies of 200 is difficult, requiring higher overhead costs at his practice.

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Utah moves ahead with federal health reform mandates

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Americans overwhelmingly want the president and Congress to get to work on a new bill to change the health care system if the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama's 2010 overhaul as unconstitutional, a new poll finds.

A new health care bill doesn't seem to be in either party's plans on the verge of the high court's verdict on the law aimed at extending health insurance to more than 30 million Americans who now lack coverage. Republicans say they will try to repeal whatever's left of the law after the high court rules and then wait at least until after the November elections to push replacement measures. Democrats say Obama will push to put in place whatever survives.

But an Associated Press-GfK poll shows that more than three-fourths of Americans do not want their political leaders to leave the health care system alone in the event the court throws out the health care law.

Large majorities of both opponents and backers of the law share the view that Congress and the president should undertake a new effort. The lowest level of support for new health care legislation comes from people who identify themselves as strong supporters of the tea party. Even in that group, though, nearly 60 percent favor work on a new bill.

Gary Hess, a Republican from Discovery Bay, Calif., wants the high court to throw out the entire law.

But Hess, 77, said he favors the provision requiring insurance companies to cover people regardless of their medical condition. "There needs to be compromise on both sides," the retired school administrator said.

Garrett Chase, 51, said he hopes the court leaves the law in place but agreed with Hess that the politicians should get back to work if this law is struck down. "I live in the ghetto, and I see people dying every day," said Chase, an unemployed car salesman from Baltimore. "They can't get help because they can't afford it."

The call for new legislation comes even as just a third of Americans support the landmark health care law. The overall level of support for the law is relatively unchanged in recent months, with 47 percent opposing it. But among independents, only 21 percent approve of the law, a new low in AP-GfK polling.

Most of the law's major changes have yet to take effect, including the requirement that most people have health insurance or pay a penalty. The insurance mandate has been among the least popular aspects of the law. Provisions that have gone into effect include extended coverage for young adults on their parents' insurance and relief for seniors with high prescription drug costs.

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Poll: Vast support for new health care effort

In this Wednesday, May 30, 2012, photo, Angela Laws poses for a photo in Leesburg, Va. Laws, 58, runs a small business that cleans and maintains commercial buildings and figures that she'll remain uninsured if she can't find an affordable coverage option that fits a monthly budget already crammed with payments of $1,203 for rent $530 toward her car.

By TOM MURPHY

AP Business Writer

One of the biggest misconceptions about President Obamas health care overhaul isnt who the law will cover, but rather who it wont.

If it survives Supreme court scrutiny, the landmark overhaul will expand coverage to about 30 million uninsured people, according to government figures. But an estimated 26 million U.S. residents will remain without coverage a population thats roughly the size of Texas and includes illegal immigrants and those who cant afford to pay out-of-pocket for health insurance.

Many people think that this health care law is going to cover everyone, and its not, says Nicole Lamoureux, executive director of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, which represents about 1,200 clinics nationally.

To be sure, its estimated that the Affordable Care Act would greatly increase the number of insured Americans. The law has a provision that requires most Americans to be insured or face a tax penalty. It also calls for an expansion of Medicaid, a government-funded program that covers the health care costs of low-income and disabled Americans. Additionally, starting in 2014, there will be tax credits to help middle-class Americans buy coverage.

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision this month on whether to uphold the law completely or strike down parts or all of it. If it survives, about 93 percent of all non-elderly, legal U.S. residents will be covered by 2016. Thats up from 82 percent this year.

Still, millions of illegal immigrants wont qualify for coverage. This population will account for roughly 26 percent of those who will remain uninsured, according to Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

And many legal U.S. residents will go without insurance, too. About 36 percent of the population that remains uninsured will qualify for Medicaid but wont sign up for various reasons. Others likely will make too much money to qualify for assistance but be unable to afford coverage.

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Millions still go without insurance if law ruled OK

Parija Kavilanz

POSTED: 11:54 am MDT June 19, 2012

UPDATED: 2:33 am MDT June 20, 2012

Copyright CNN 2012

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Young Adults Gain Health Care Under New Law

About 30 percent of Americans are enrolled in Medicaid or have no health insurance.

In addressing this problem, the Affordable Care Act of 2010 follows a path that is very indirect, expensive and possibly unconstitutional.

The law provides low-income individuals with nearly cost-free access to traditional health insurance, balancing the books by raising the premiums for other patients and requiring that all Americans have qualifying insurance.

A decision on the constitutionality of this law is expected any day by the Supreme Court.

A far better approach would be to create a system of free health clinics, operated under contract to the federal government. Such a system could be called the Public Access Health Service.

As I picture it, this service would operate under guidelines set by a medical board of governors.

Treatment guidelines The cost of health care in other industrialized countries is only 40 to 50 percent of U.S. costs with outcomes that are as good as ours.

Accordingly, the board of governors would be required by law to set treatment guidelines so as to limit the cost per patient to 50 percent of the cost of mainstream medical treatment.

Such savings are possible. First, the Public Access Health Service would not be an insurance program and would avoid the 20 to 30 percent overhead costs of insurance companies.

Also, the large scale of operations would facilitate cost-saving innovations such as centralized electronic record keeping and remote diagnosis.

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A fresh start for health care reform

Americans overwhelmingly want the president and Congress to get to work on a new bill to change the health care system if the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama's 2010 overhaul as unconstitutional, a new poll finds.

Originally posted here:

Health care system: Vast support for new effort, poll shows