A measure challenging federal health insurance laws will appear on Missouri ballots on August 3. A ‘yes’ vote on Proposition C signifies that the voter does not want people to be penalized if they choose not to take part in federal health care programs. A ‘no’ vote would be cast in acceptance of requiring everyone to buy health insurance.
“This legislation simply protects the rights of Missourians to choose their own health care products and services without fear of facing fines or imprisonment,” State Sen. Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield) said. “It doesn’t reject any federal health care option, nor take away an individual’s choice to participate in the federal health care plan. The measure expands options, not limits them.”
Cunningham sponsored a bill in the Missouri legislature this year that led to the August ballot proposal.
“In this economy, we cannot push ineffective, wildly exorbitant mandates on our businesses and then expect economic growth,” Sen. Cunningham said. “This unprecedented order from the government placed upon individuals and businesses to buy certain products and services must be stopped.”
Proposition C drew opposition in the form of a lawsuit. The plaintiffs sought to have a Cole County judge order Proposition C’s removal from ballots because they felt that the ballot language is unconstitutional. Circuit Judge Paul Wilson ruled that attorney Chip Gentry did not establish grounds for an unconstitutionality ruling, and Wilson threw out the case.
The Missouri Hospitals Association also declared opposition to Proposition C. MHA President and CEO Herb B. Kuhn stated that without an insurance mandate, fewer individuals will buy health insurance, which will cause the government to reduce Medicare and Medicaid funding by $500 million per year for the next decade.
“Missouri’s hospitals could lose up to a half billion dollars through the loss of the individual mandate. That money will either go back to the federal treasury, or more likely, be sent to other states to fund additional coverage,” Kuhn said.
The Missouri Department of Insurance began preparing to enforce the federal law when it was passed by Congress. At the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents 2010 Leadership Conference at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri Insurance Director John M. Huff told told agents about involvement in the new federally funded high-risk pool.
“From the high-risk pool to coverage of adult children to planning full coverage of preventive care, several parts of the new law are already affecting Missouri consumers. There is also a great deal of consumer education that needs to happen through the rest of the year and looking toward 2014,” Huff said.
Huff says the most dramatic changes are set for 2014, when Americans would be guaranteed a right to buy competitively-priced insurance regardless of prior health status.
Proposition C ballot language Shall the Missouri Statutes be amended to: Deny the government authority to penalize citizens for refusing to purchase private health insurance or infringe upon the right to offer or accept direct payment for lawful healthcare services? Modify laws regarding the liquidation of certain domestic insurance companies? It is estimated this proposal will have no immediate costs or savings to state or local governmental entities. However, because of the uncertain interaction of the proposal with implementation of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, future costs to state governmental entities are unknown.