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Contact: Jorge Amselle Director, Public Affairs Phone: 202-742-8536
38 States Lining Up Against ObamaCare
March 4, 2010
Washington, D.C.— Today Virginia became the
first state in the nation to enact legislation to protect their
citizens from being forced to purchase health insurance or participate
in any health care system against their will. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
has identified 37 other states that have similar bills pending or have
announced that they will introduce this legislation. Already, at least
one house of the legislatures in
These legislative initiatives are based on ALEC’s model Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act. Under the legislation, any state attempt to require an individual to purchase health insurance—or forbid an individual from purchasing services outside of the required health care system—would be rendered unconstitutional. The measure may also cause a federalism clash if Congress passes a law with either of these provisions.
“Control over our own individual health care choices is something most Americans take very personally. It is not surprising that so many state legislators are eager to pass legislation to protect their constituents from any health care mandates, either from the state or federal government,” said Christie Herrera, director of ALEC’s Health and Human Services Task Force, which is coordinating the nationwide effort.
“It is urgent for states to take action and protect the liberty
of their citizens so they can direct their own health care in the way
they see fit. Our history proves it is economic freedom that helped us
reduce poverty and provide the good health care we have now.
Command-and-control mandates advance destructive behavior on many
levels,” said Kansas State Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook, sponsor of
SCR-1626,
The Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act has already been filed or
prefiled in 33 states—Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Lawmakers in an additional four
states—
A complete map with links to the legislation in each state is available online at www.alec.org.
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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is the nation’s largest nonpartisan individual membership association of state legislators. Related Files
ALECALEC Letter to the FCC (Adobe PDF File) |
