Wednesday, March 24, 2010

States Fighting Federal Government Takeover of Health Care

There is so much wrong, on so many levels, with the passage of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" that it is tough to know where to even begin. My last post on this blog was focused on sharing a copy of my petition to Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller that he fight the bill, which was signed yesterday (23 March 2010) by the President.

This post follows up with some good news that I turned up in my continued research:
1. Indiana is going to fight the health care law;
2. Indiana is among many states fighting the health care law;
3. The law is an overt attempt by the federal government, especially Democrats, to "control the people."



The Law is Bad for Indiana... and We'll Fight It
It is unconstitutional, limits options, and raises costs in Indiana

According to this news release on IN.gov, AG Zoeller is "reviewing options for legal challenge to health care bill". The news release included a link to the official report that AG Zoeller submitted to Senator Luger (US Senate, R-IN) on 05 February 2010 analyzing Senate version of the health care bill. Here is a link to the full report on IN.gov (PDF, 55 pages). And here is a summary of the report on IN.gov (1 page, web).

So why exactly is this law bad for Indiana? Check out these highlights from AG Zoeller's report (or read the full report, if you wish).

  1. Constitutionality at issue.
    • Never before has the federal government required Americans to purchase any good or service, nor has it regulated inactivity.

    • The bill's "Nebraska Compromise" amendment ... appears to violate Article I of the U.S. Constitution.

  2. Insurance exchanges problematic.

  3. Indiana Medicaid costs.

    • Increases Indiana's Medicaid costs by $2.4 billion over 10 years.

    • Diverts pharmaceutical rebate savings from the states to the federal government, potentially resulting in a loss to Indiana of $750 million by 2019.

  4. State insurance plans preempted.

    • [May] spell the end of the popular Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) where low-income Hoosiers now are able to purchase state-run health coverage — funded partially through cigarette tax — that emphasizes preventive care.

  5. Economic impact.

    • Substantial negative impact on two Indiana industries that employed a combined 35,500 Hoosiers in 2007.


The report concludes that the Senate version of the health care bill is unlikely to achieve one of its major goals, reducing the cost of health care. ... The Senate bill is likely to cause a steep increase in insurance premiums.


Indiana is Not Alone in the Fight
14 Sovereign States have already filed suit

In the build-up the bill's final passage and signing, I was most aware of the Commonwealth of Virginia's opposition to it. Little did I know, the ball was already rolling throughout the Union.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (website | Twitter) was outspoken in his opposition and made it clear before the House even passed the bill that Virginia would file suit if it became law. When the House did pass the bill, AG Cuccinelli tweeted: "Well, they did it. Once the president signs it into law, we'll walk across the street and file suit b/c the ind mandate is unconstitutional".

Not only has the Attorney General stood up for the sovereignty of the Commonwealth and the liberty of its People, but the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill, expected to be signed into law by Governor Bob McDonnell today (24 March 2010), that explicitly makes it illegal for the federal government to force Virginia residents to purchase health care. Under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which states "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", since the Congress was not granted authority to force citizens to purchase a product or service, State laws supercede the federal government's "law".

As I said, I have been most aware of the fight in Virginia, but that last link includes a tidbit that Idaho has actually enacted such a law already.

In separate action, the attorneys general from thirteen (13) other states have jointly filed suit in the US District Court in Florida.

Attorney General State of
Bill McCollum Florida
Henry McMaster South Carolina
Jon Bruning Nebraska
Greg Abbott Texas
Mark L. Shurtleff Utah
James D. "Buddy" Caldwell Louisiana
Troy King Alabama
Michael A. Cox Michigan
John W. Suthers Colorado
Thomas W. Corbett, Jr. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Robert M. McKenna Washington
Lawrence G. Wasden Idaho
Marty J. Jackley South Dakota


One interesting note is that, while in most states the Attorney General and the Governor are allies in this battle, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire supports the health care law that WA AG Rob McKenna has filed suit to block. Since both are elected offices, neither has authority over the other's actions.

Thankfully, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has been just as adamantly opposed to the federal government's takeover of the health care system. I'm encouraged to see that my home state is but one among many with heads of sound logic and balls of steel to stand up to the federal government's outright attempt to "control the people".


The Real Reason for the Health Care Bill
To control the people

Oh, did you miss that? Representative John D. Dingell (D-MI) admitted "it takes a long time to do the necessary administrative steps ... to control the people." He went on to say that "our Republicans have spent a long time not participating [in trying to control the people], not helping [the effort to control the people], prepping [to fight Democratic power-grabs], and delaying [Democratic power grabs],... they have contributed nothing to [the attempt to control the people] and made no offer whatsoever as to what it is they want or what they stand for."

There you have it, folks, straight from the horse's mouth. "Democrats been working a long time to advance the federal government's power to control the people, and Republicans have done nothing but try to stop them." And he is sorely mistaken if he believes Republicans have not made it known what they stand against. The very fact they've put up such a fight against these kinds of power-grabs speak louder than any official press-release or party policy.

Thank God we have States like Indiana and the others who have already filed suit to stop the injustice and folly that is the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act".

Monday, March 22, 2010

Fighting for State's Rights & Personal Liberty

It has been asked, "How do we get our country back?"

There is no simple answer. We have been slowly eroded by politicians from both parties for decades, and it will likewise take a while to recover. But one thing is known - the first step is to contact your representatives. If they will listen, great! Tell them how they can best represent you and the best interest of the people. If not, it is time to start looking for a replacement - who knows, the right man for the job may be the one in the mirror.

With the passage of the "health care" bill by the US House of Representatives yesterday, we have taken a giant leap towards becoming the Union of Socialist States of America (USSA). Thankfully, several of the Sovereign States have already made it known that the federal government, a creature OF the Sovereign States, has overstepped its bounds, gone beyond the power granted to it by the States that created it.

At this point in time, at least 10 States have disclosed plans to file a lawsuit against the federal government for overstepping its powers with the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act". More Sovereign States are likely to follow. My fellow Hoosiers, I encourage you to contact Attorney General Greg Zoeller in support of Indiana joining the list of States with the cajones to stand up to the federal government.

Below is a copy of the email I sent to AG Zoeller, and here is a link to contact him yourself. (If you are not a Hoosier, please contact your respective attorney general an encourage him to join the cause of State's Rights and Personal Liberty.

Dear Mr. Greg Zoeller:

I write to you on a day that is dreary not only because of the rainy weather, but more importantly because of the decision of the United States Congress to pass the "health care" bill last night. The bill was strongly opposed by a majority of American citizens throughout our great nation; watchdog groups warned us of the repercussions; the Democratic Party even lost seats already because citizens simply did not want this bill enacted. Yet, Congress, in its Infinite Wisdom, decided that the We the People are not intelligent nor wise enough to make this sort of decision, that it is somehow ordained to push this down our necks against our every petition, plea, and protest. Nevertheless, as of today, what has been done has already been done.

Yesterday, the President said, "This is what 'change' looks like."
"Oh really, Mr. President?" is my response. "Just wait until you see November... then you will truly see 'change'!"

I was disheartened to see that all five (5) of the Democratic representatives from Indiana to the United States House of Representatives voted in support of this bill. Surely they will receive their reckoning come election time. In the mean time, however, we have work to be done. As the highest legal advisor to the State of Indiana, I implore you to help us fight off this tragedy of American greatness that is the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act".

As many as twelve (12) Sovereign States of our Great Union have begun preparations to file a lawsuit against the federal government's seizure of the health care system [1]. Most outspoken on this intention has been Virginia's Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, but Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has also made his intentions known. Furthermore, the attorneys general from Alabama, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington will be standing up to the federal government on behalf of their respective states [2]. I respectfully petition you, sir, to join the growing throng of opposition among these Sovereign States against the unconstitutional behavior of the members of the Congress of the United States and the White House.

Our very own Governor Mitch Daniels has been publicly against the passage of this outrageous bill [3]. I am a young man, and I have not been active in following politics until just the past two years, but my research and diligence has given me great faith in our State and in our Governor. I know you are much more aware of all the ramifications of this "reform" bill than I, but from every stretch of my knowledge, from every byte of insight I've extracted from my elders, advisors, peers, and mentors, and from every application of my sincerest wisdom, I have concluded that this Act must be undone at the earliest possible moment in order to protect, if not the Union as a whole, the State of Indiana. So again, I encourage you to join Governor Daniels in opposition to this bill for the welfare of our own state.


Thank you.


Best regards,

Caleb W. Allen
Fort Wayne, IN
B.S., Computer Science, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 2009


Sources:
[1] http://www.wbur.org/npr/125030078
[2] http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/22/health.care.lawsuit/
[3] http://www.wthitv.com/dpps/news/indiana/governor-mitch-daniels-releases-statement-on-health-care-bill_3284623



All for now...
Caleb