Outcome of governors' races will impact the health law's reach

Politico Pro reports that if power shifts to the right the implementation of the health law could be minimized.

Politico Pro: Governor Races Will Shape Health Care Law
While the administration likes to highlight how much flexibility it has given states, that same flexibility has been a major weakness. If more power shifts to Republican governors, they'll have more power to minimize the law's reach. Republicans' last major hope for overturning the health law lies in the Nov. 6 elections. If the national results indicate the Affordable Care Act's future is secure, states have just 10 days to let the Obama administration know if they'll run their own health insurance exchange or reach out to the feds for some help. There is no such deadline for the other big decision they face: whether to expand Medicaid (Millman, 8/17). 

Also in the news, a Missouri ballot initiative and Iowa anti-health law rally -

The Associated Press: Judge Considers Suit Over Mo. Health Care Measure
A Missouri judge is considering a lawsuit challenging the ballot language of a health care measure that goes before voters in November. Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and several top GOP lawmakers filed suit last month, claiming the summary written by Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is unfair and misleading (8/17).

The Des Moines Register: Consultant Bashes Health Care Law At Rally
Iowans need to mobilize to fight to repeal the federal health care law referred to as Obamacare, conservative political consultant Dick Morris told Iowans on Thursday night. The provisions that take effect in 2014 are part of "a vicious, horrible system," Morris said at a "Hands Off My Health Care!" rally organized by the grass-roots group Americans for Prosperity (Jacobs, 8/16).