That’s the takeaway message from a report by the Commonwealth Fund showing that only 11 states and the District of Columbia have passed rules needed to implement the law.
Without action, the other 39 states are “potentially limiting” their ability to ensure that “consumers achieve the full protections of the law,” according to the study done for the liberal think tank by three researchers at Georgetown University.
To be sure, most state legislatures are just beginning their legislative sessions and the federal rules don’t go into effect until next January. Moreover, federal regulators could enforce the rules in states that don’t pass their own legislation. Talks are currently going on between the Obama administration and state regulators outlining the role each will play, according to state sources.
Utah is listed as one state that had passed laws addressing at least one of the provisions. Kaiser Health News
