GOP Leader Blog
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Illinois Joins 39 Other States to Introduce Opt-Out Legislation Against Gov’t Takeover of Health Care
Posted by
Kevin Boland
on
March 26, 2010
It's official: last night, Illinois became the 40th state to introduce legislation to allow its residents to "opt-out" of the Democrats' job-killing government takeover of health care. The bill, HB 6842, "[p]rovides that no resident of the State...shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual insurance" and "[p]rovides that no provision of the Act shall render a resident of this State liable for any penalty, assessment, fee, or fine as a result of his failure to procure or obtain health insurance coverage." That bill couldn't have come soon enough, because as the Associated Press reported this morning, several Illinois businesses are being hammered by the Democrats' government takeover of health care
The health care overhaul will cost U.S. companies billions and make them more likely to drop prescription drug coverage for retirees because of a change in how the government subsidizes those benefits. In the first two days after the law was signed, three major companies - Deere & Co., Caterpillar Inc. and Valero Energy - said they expect to take a total hit of $265 million to account for smaller tax deductions in the future. With more than 3,500 companies now getting the tax break as an incentive to keep providing coverage, others are almost certain to announce similar cost increases in the weeks ahead as they sort out the impact of the change....analysts said as many as 2 million could lose the prescription drug coverage provided by their former employers, leaving them to enroll in Medicare's program.Yesterday also saw Oklahoma take a stand against the Democrats' job-killing government takeover of health care, as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) noted in a press release today The Oklahoma Senate also gave preliminary approval Tuesday for House Joint Resolution 1054-a constitutional amendment protecting a patient's right to pay directly for medical care, and prohibiting penalties for failing to purchase health insurance-to appear before voters on the November ballot. The resolution passed with strong bipartisan support, with 20 Oklahoma House Democrats and 11 Oklahoma Senate Democrats backing the legislation.Illinois and Oklahoma aren't the only states with pending legislation challenging ObamaCare. Arizona residents will vote this fall on the Arizona Health Care Freedom Act which "will guarantee that [Arizonans] can make our own decisions about health care choices and opt-out of any government run system." And yesterday, as a reminder of the far reaching consequences of the Democrats' job-killing government takeover of health care, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona said in statement Taking into account the changes included in the federal legislation, as well as the recently enacted state budget for FY 2011, the updated analysis shows that the costs to the State of Arizona of these unprecedented federal mandates total a staggering $11.6 billion over the next 10 years. Despite claims of 'savings' due to increased federal funding, maintenance of effort requirements obligate Arizona to spend over $1 billion annually to access those increased federal funds.Next door, Utah Governor Gary Herbert discussed how the health care bill would impact his state, as the Salt Lake Tribune reported this morning Gov. Gary Herbert blasted Congress' efforts to impose health reform Thursday, saying it would be a ‘budget buster' and insisting it is unconstitutional to require citizens to buy health insurance.... Herbert is supporting Utah's efforts to join with 12 other states in an attempt to challenge the Democratic health reform legislation that President Barack Obama signed on Tuesday. ‘The states have got to stand up,' Herbert said of the 2,562-page bill that he said is a ‘typical, one-size-fits-all approach.'And in North Carolina, lawmakers are pressuring the Attorney General to join other states challenging the Constitutionality of the Democrat's federal government takeover of health care, as the Statesville Record and Landmark reported yesterday: The Tar Heel State's GOP congressional delegation drafted a letter to Attorney General Roy Cooper asking him to join 14 other states whose attorneys general have filed or are in the process of filing lawsuits opposing the new law. The letter, which is dated March 24, is signed by Reps. Virginia Foxx and Patrick McHenry - whose 5th and 10th districts, respectively, cover Iredell County - as well as representatives Walter Jones (3rd District), Sue Myrick (9th District) and Howard Coble (6th District).As more details of the destruction that the Democrats' government takeover of health care emerge over the coming weeks and months, even more states are sure to join in rejecting the tax hikes, the Medicare cuts, the job-killing mandates, taxpayer-funded abortions, and backroom deals. |