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States get their say on health: post-election round up
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BMJ
2012;345:e7810
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- Edward Davies, US news and features editor
- edavies{at}bmj.com
The health news from last week’s election was dominated by the presidential result, securing the future of the Affordable Care Act. Mitt Romney’s pledge to repeal Obamacare has been seen off and so reform, in the largest sense, continues to plow its furrow. (http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e7587)
However, various states saw dozens of propositions and referendums relating to the health of the nation, including several states having their say on the president’s reforms and, in particular, the individual mandate.
Individual mandate
This was the part of the Affordable Care Act that was upheld by the Supreme Court in June and would require everyone to buy healthcare coverage. Voters in Alabama, Florida, Montana, and Wyoming all had a say on whether they wanted this and all but the Floridians were unhappy with it. In Florida they voted against a motion that would have banned the compulsory purchase of insurance (http://collinscenter.org/2012flamendments/amendment-1-health-care-services/), while in the other three states voters were agreed that nobody should force them to do anything.
Proposition E in Missouri went a step further and …
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