With almost 700 health policy experts, bureaucrats and state administrators gathered in Baltimore at this year’s National Academy for State Health Policy national conference only three weeks before the country elects a president and most of Congress, you’d expect some political chatter. Not so much. The dearth of discussion was not because there’s not as much at stake this year. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and many GOP congressional candidates have promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act if they’re elected. The difference is this year is that it’s political, not legal. Partisan politics are rough waters for policy wonks. For many states – the undecided, as well as the loudly and publicly opposed to the ACA – November’s election could trigger a change of course according to a report at the www.californiahealthline.org.