Health law implementation decisions draw state officials' attention, set scene for state-level policy action

Virginia's attorney general outlines his take on the fiscal dangers that the health law's Medicaid expansion will cause. Meanwhile, Michigan lawmakers will consider the creation of a state-based health exchange. Also, in Georgia, a year-long effort to revamp the state's Medicaid program is on hold as one leader says it would be "imprudent" to move forward while so many uncertainties are in play.

Richmond Times-Dispatch: Cuccinelli: Medicaid Expansion Imperils State Finances
Virginia will put itself in a perilous position financially if it opts to expand Medicaid, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said Friday. "The numbers in Virginia, when you go out a few years, are enormous," Cuccinelli said in an appearance on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports." "People need to understand that … this has been the biggest, fastest growing monster in our budget," Cuccinelli said. "It's eating everything else up, transportation, education, everything else, and taxation" (Cain, 7/14).

Associated Press/Detroit Free Press: Health Care On Agenda When Michigan Lawmakers Return
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and his fellow Republicans could find themselves knee-deep in health care issues Wednesday when lawmakers briefly return after a five-week break. Snyder needs to get reluctant House Republicans on board with his efforts to create an online site where individuals and small businesses can comparison shop for private health insurance. Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel says the governor would like the House on Thursday to follow the lead of the GOP-controlled Senate and approve setting up the exchange. Lawmakers aren't scheduled to be in session again until mid-August (Hoffman, 7/14).

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: State Tables Medicaid Revamp
A nearly year-long effort to reshape Georgia's Medicaid program has largely been put on hold amid uncertainties surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court's recent health care law decision and effects of the November elections. Georgia Department of Community Health Commissioner David Cook said Friday it would be imprudent for the state to make sweeping changes to the massive health care program for low-income Georgians with so many unknowns in play. The state was widely expected this summer to announce plans to dramatically expand its use of for-profit insurance companies to manage the care of hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled Georgians -- some of Medicaid's most complex and expensive patients (Williams, 7/13).