SEQUIM — State Attorney General Rob McKenna explained his decision to join 19 other states in suing the federal government over the federal Health Care Reform Act, delivering a rousing civics lesson on states’ rights and the Constitution to an appreciative audience packed into the Boys & Girls Club on Monday night.
The Bellevue Republican’s 45-minute presentation Monday night before more than 300 attendees was sponsored by Concerned Citizens of Clallam County, or FourC.
Loose association
The group, which organized an anti-taxes rally April 15 in Sequim that attracted about 200 protesters, said it “is loosely associated with tea party groups across the country and the state” and is “dedicated to returning power to the people and the states, as declared by the Constitution,” according to its website, www.newsocialcontract.com, where it refers to members as “patriots.”
The states challenged the new health care law after Congress approved it in mid-March on grounds the $940 billion measure violated the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.
The amendment reads, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Requirement a violation
The law violated the amendment by requiring citizens to buy medical insurance and by requiring states to expand the Medicaid program, adding billions more to the state deficit, McKenna said.
In doing so, the federal government exceeded its authority, said McKenna, who was interrupted several times by applause.
The mandate and Medi-caid provisions can be knocked out of the legislation without hurting other parts of the bill, such as access to health insurance being allowed regardless of pre-existing conditions and banning caps on the amount of insurance a policy-holder can receive, McKenna said.
If the law is allowed to stand as is, “it will be the end of federalism as we know it,” McKenna said, referring to the division of power between the states and the federal government.
The amendment, the last in the Bill of Rights, “has been sadly neglected,” Mc-Kenna said but will be violated if the two provisions he and 19 other attorneys general are challenging is allowed to remain.
McKenna said the mandate to purchase insurance or face fines also infringes upon the Constitution.
“You will be forced to go into the market to show the government you bought what the government approves,” McKenna said.
“In history, the government has never forced Americans to go into the private market to force them to spend money on a private problem,” he continued.
“Where does this stop? People who aren’t in the stream of commerce can’t be forced into the stream of commerce.”
McKenna said he expects the Supreme Court to hear the case in about three years.
In answer to “one of the arguments I hear all the time,” McKenna said the requirement that people own vehicle insurance is not analogous to requiring health insurance.
Vehicle insurance “is a regulation on the privilege of driving,” McKenna said. “Health insurance is a requirement simply because you exist.”
In addition, the federal government does not impose seat-belt laws, drunken driving laws and there is no national drinking age.
“It reminds us that there still is a delineation of power, a distinction between the states and federal authority,” McKenna said.
Challenge
He acknowledged that finding affordable insurance is a challenge for many Americans.
“There is a need for a national market and a reduction in state mandates,” McKenna said, so people aren’t required to buy a plan that provides benefits such as in vitro fertilization or acupuncture, “something you won’t ever use.”
Other states suing the federal government over the Health Care Reform Act are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah.
McKenna has a question-and-answer presentation on his office’s website, www.atg.wa.gov.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
