Bipartisan multi-state challenge now includes 18 states
AUSTIN The addition of five new states to our bipartisan legal challenge reflects broad nationwide concern about the constitutionality of this sweeping and unprecedented federal legislation" Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said. Five additional states have announced that they will join the original 13 states legal challenge to the newly enacted federal health care legislation.
Indiana North Dakota Mississippi Nevada & Arizona will join Texas and 12 other states legal action which was filed on March 23 in federal court.
The federal health care legislation violates our Constitution imposes an unprecedented mandate on individual Texans and will require the Texas taxpayers to spend billions of additional dollars on health care programs" Abbott said.
Under the new federal health care law for the first time in the nations history the federal government is attempting to force individual Americans to enter into contracts and purchase services from private companies in this case insurance companies or face a penalty.
No public policy goal no matter how important or well-intentioned can be allowed to trample the protections and rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution" saidAbbott.
The state attorneys general are challenging this so-called individual mandate requirement explaining that such an imposition on the American people exceeds Congress authority and violates Americans
constitutional rights.
Additionally the states are challenging provisions of the new law that will impose dramatic Medicaid spending increases on the states including $27 billion in mandatory spending increases in the State of Texas.
The 18-state coalition includes:
- Texas
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Nebraska
- Pennsylvania
- Louisiana
- Washington
- Colorado
- Michigan
- Utah
- Alabama
- South Dakota an
- Idaho
