States continue implementation efforts; Some newly-elected AGs step up legal attacks

Even as health overhaul drama continues on Capitol Hill, news outlets continue to watch how developments at the state level will impact the law's implementation.

Politico: States Grapple With Health Care
As House Republicans revive debates of the past with the planned repeal vote on health care reform, their state-level counterparts are quietly pushing into health reform's future. All states — including those led by Republican governors who campaigned against reform — have implemented at least some of the new law's provisions. And every state has now received federal funding from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The action in the states is a sharp contrast to the scene on the Hill Tuesday, where familiar foes rehashed old rhetoric (Kliff, 1/4).

CQ HealthBeat: Health Care Law Faces Attacks In The Courts From New Republican AGs
The rush is on among newly elected Republicans in the statehouses to challenge the health care law in the courts, as they pursue a parallel track alongside House Republicans pushing for repeal (Norman, 1/4).

NPR: States At The Heart Of Implementing Health Care Law
Alan Weil, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, tells Renee Montagne what states are facing as they begin to implement the new health care law (1/5).