Jindal, campaigning for Romney, laments that health law will penalize 6 million people

The Louisiana governor denies ties between Romney's health law in Massachusetts and the national overhaul championed by President Barack Obama.

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: Gov. Jindal Slams Obama Health Law
Mitt Romney might joke about accepting the role as the "grandfather" of President Barack Obama's health-care law, but Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal didn't take the bait. "I can't speak to the governor's sense of humor," Mr. Jindal said in a conference call,  organized by the Romney campaign, in which he decried Mr. Obama's health-care law (Murray, 9/20).

Politico Pro: Jindal: CBO Mandate Report Proof Of Broken Promises
Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday that the difference between Gov. Mitt Romney's state and national health plans is that the Republican presidential contender has "consistently" been against a national mandate. On a press conference call for the Romney campaign, the Republican governor of Louisiana pushed back on comparisons between the national plan and Romney's Massachusetts health reform plan, saying President Barack Obama's health reform law led only to a series of broken promises. Jindal said the Congressional Budget Office report released this week, which found that nearly 6 million Americans will have to pay a penalty for not obtaining health insurance, is the latest example of the broken promises in the law (Haberkorn, 9/20).

In other news related to states and the implementatioin of the health law -

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Virginia's Top Health Official Discusses Federal Health Care Overhaul
Many unknowns still exist regarding what the federal health care overhaul that was upheld over the summer will mean for Virginia, the state's top health official told legislators Thursday. Virginia Secretary of Health & Human Resources Bill Hazel told the Senate Finance Committee that Virginia faces deadlines this fall on determining which benefits will be required in basic health insurance plans sold to individuals and small businesses in the state (9/20).

The Associated Press/The Seattle Times: Inslee Would Embrace Medicaid Expansion As Governor
(Washington) Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee is fully embracing the expansion of Medicaid health coverage, saying Thursday he believes it is one of the transformational parts of President Obama's health-care law. In outlining his health-care plans, Inslee said the Medicaid expansion will have financial benefits by covering all the uncompensated care that occurs in hospitals. The federal government will cover all the costs of the newly eligible enrollees, with the state picking up some of the tab eventually (9/20).

Politico Pro: Mississippi Revisits Medicaid Expansion
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has sworn off the health law's Medicaid expansion. So how come state lawmakers are still talking about it? Members of the Mississippi Joint Legislative Budget Committee said they'll be discussing the potential expansion in 2014 in budget hearings Thursday afternoon -; even though most of them already think the state can't afford it. Dr. David Dzielak, executive director of the state's division of Medicaid, said that even though the governor is dead set against the expansion, "technical bills and how we operate are really the purview of the Legislature" (Smith, 9/20).

Georgia Health News: Backers Planning Push For Medicaid Expansion
Since the Supreme Court ruling on the health reform law, many Georgians involved in health care have been hyper-interested in the state's decision whether to expand Medicaid. ... If the state expands its Medicaid program, more than 600,000 lower-income people will become eligible for coverage.That represents a "huge impact" in terms of numbers of people, Judith Solomon of the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities told consumer advocates and health care officials Thursday at an Atlanta event hosted by Healthcare Georgia Foundation (Miller, 9/20).