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| BeebeCare is ObamaCare |
by Arkansas Lt. Governor Mark A. Darr: While campaigning for office, I expressed my disagreement with the federal health care reform legislation passed by Congress a year ago. I stated my opposition to the mandate that individuals buy health insurance and I believe the costs of this legislation and the burdensome regulations it will impose are unacceptable in light of our nation’s debt, the state of our economy and its obvious limitations on individual and economic freedom.
Efforts have been underway in the State Capitol during this legislative session to implement various components of the federal health care plan. I have been opposed to these efforts as the constitutionality of the federal plan is still being challenged in courts around the country. I don’t believe that we should spend time and money rushing to create an infrastructure for something that may be ruled unconstitutional. In fact, in January, a federal judge ruled the individual mandate portion of the law unconstitutional in a suit filed against the federal plan by 26 other states.
One bill that is before the Arkansas legislature this week is House Bill 2138. This bill is designed to “enforce and implement” provisions of the federal plan. It would also create a state-level health benefits exchange to “supplement the current insurance marketplace”. Under this proposed plan, the Arkansas Insurance Commissioner would essentially become the state’s health insurance czar.
This 41-page bill is being rushed through the legislature in the last week of the session. Why? The federal health care law states that the Secretary of Health and Human Services will determine by January 1, 2013 whether a state will be able to have a health exchange by January 1, 2014. Health care represents approximately one-sixth of our economy. The legislature should take its time in determining if this is the right move forward.
These types of measures should be part of a more thoughtful and deliberative process. However, we’ve seen this sort of rush tactic before. Last year, when she was trying to push the federal plan through Congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was quoted as saying, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” Well, I’d say there is a lot of fog being generated and people should know what is in the bill before it is voted on.
Throughout our history, state governments have had both a complementary and an adversarial relationship with the federal government. When it comes to health care, local and individual control is the best option. That is why I believe the State of Arkansas should not be dictated to on this issue by the federal government. That said, I also do not think that as a state, we should rush into setting up expensive bureaucracies that expand government without a careful and substantive debate from both sides. On January 25th, the Surgeon General of Arkansas, in testimony on another piece of health care legislation, advised that the legislature wait until the United States Supreme Court had made a decision with regard to the federal health care law. I would agree.
Where do the people of Arkansas stand on this issue? Polls have consistently shown that a strong majority of Arkansans do not support federally-mandated health care reform. I would urge the citizens of Arkansas to contact their state legislators on this issue and tell them not to pass rushed legislation. It is my pledge to speak out on the issue of health care reform. We all know that there are needed reforms, but we do not need them if they restrict individual and economic freedom and send us into more debt.
Tags: Arkansas, Lt. Governor, Mark Darr, federal health care, ObamaCare, BeebeCare, US Constitution To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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