Tuesday, March 23, 2010

13 State Attorneys General Sue Over Health Law

Attorneys general from 13 states have filed suit on behalf of their states against the latest federal health legislation:

The lawsuit claims the bill violates the 10th Amendment, which says the federal government has no authority beyond the powers granted to it under the Constitution, by forcing the states to carry out its provisions but not reimbursing them for the costs.

It also says the states can't afford the new law. Using Florida as an example, the lawsuit says the overhaul will add almost 1.3 million people to the state's Medicaid rolls and cost the state an additional $150 million in 2014, growing to $1 billion a year by 2019.

"We simply cannot afford to do the things in this bill that we're mandated to do," McCollum said at a press conference after filing the suit. He said the Medicaid expansion in Florida will cost $1.6 billion.

"That's not possible or practical to do in our state," he said.

They have a great case, and this expansion of federal power should be scaled back. The ball is in the Supreme Court's hands now, we'll soon see where their priorities lie.

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