Ten States Plan Lawsuit Over Obama Health-Care Bill
March 22, 2010
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Ten states will challenge the constitutionality of the health-care overhaul passed yesterday by the U.S. House, said Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.
The legislation places a burden on already cash-strapped states to fund an expanded Medicaid program and build a new insurance exchange so that individuals can find affordable insurance, McCollum told a press conference today in Orlando, Florida. For Medicaid alone, it will cost the state of Florida $1.6 billion, he said.
Florida is being joined by Texas, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, North and South Dakota, Alabama, Nebraska, Utah and Washington in a lawsuit that McCollum said would be filed “as soon as the president signs the bill,” which is expected tomorrow.
“This is a bad bill,” McCollum said. “That’s a political determination and a practical one.”
He said the mandate for individuals to buy some form of health insurance is unconstitutional. It also infringes on the ability of states to provide other services, such as education, to its citizens because of the cost burdens, he said. Florida estimates it will have to hire 1,000 more employees.
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