My Personal Blog - SeanandRuth.us

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Saturday, August 21, 2010

Courageous Missouri Senators - Protecting the Invisible People Who Want Affordable Medical Insurance

In the 2010 Legislative session, a bill was passed that will affect health insurance premiums for all Missourians. Yet only those who would benefit from the bill were in the spot light: children with autism, generally defined. Too often the "invisible" people or groups affected by a law or policy are overlooked because emotional arguments are presented in favor of a bill, which may or may not help a specific few.

Here is a review of how Missouri Senators voted.

I've also included a letter of object by State Rep. Ed Emery pointing out the constitutional violations of the bill, along with a list of how the state representatives voted. Check it out. You might be surprised.

Twenty-fifth Day–Thursday, February 18, 2010 - Official Record page 1505

YEAS—Senators
Barnitz Bray Callahan Champion Clemens Crowell Days Dempsey
Engler Goodman Green Griesheimer Justus Keaveny Lager Lembke
Mayer McKenna Nodler Pearce Rupp Schaefer Schmitt Shields
Shoemyer Stouffer Vogel Wilson Wright-Jones—29

NAYS—Senators
Bartle Cunningham Purgason Scott4 Friends of Liberty!!

Absent—Senator Ridgeway—1
Absent with leave—Senators—None
Vacancies—None

Representative Emery offered an objection to CCS SCS HCS HBs 1311 & 1341, which was
appended to the bill.

LETTER OF OBJECTION

May 2010
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Governor
State Capitol, Room 216
105 West Capitol Avenue
Jefferson City, MO 65101

RE: CCS SCS HCS HBs 1311 and 1341 Establishes provisions regarding health insurance coverage for individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and the licensure of applied behavior analysts.

Dear Governor Nixon:

I submit this objection to the signing of CCS SCS HCS HBs 1311 and 1341 pursuant to article III, section 30 of the Constitution of Missouri.

This bill violates the fundamental and natural right to life of all Missouri citizens by inhibiting the freedom to choose and acquire health care that is necessary to preserve one's life and health from any source capable of providing medically efficacious health care. Any state mandate to provide coverage increases the cost of health care thereby making it less affordable. Furthermore, House Bill No. 1311 prohibits the sale of health insurance to Missouri residents by out-of-state providers unless they conform to Missouri law. This violates the right of Missouri citizens to acquire medically efficacious health care from any source.

In general term, the distinction between Missouri residents and non-residents with regard to the availability and choice of health care lacks any rational basis whatsoever and is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the federal constitution. The restriction on the sale of health insurance to Missouri residents violates the fundamental rights to life and acts medical self defense by Missouri residents preserved by both the federal and state constitutions. The restriction on the sale of health insurance policies to Missouri residents by out-of-state health carriers violates the Supremacy Clause of the federal Constitution because the state of Missouri lacks jurisdiction to impose any extraterritorial restriction on the activities of Missouri residents and out-of-state health insurance carriers conducting transactions substantially outside of the state of Missouri.

The proposed legislation also violates the Commerce Clause of the federal constitution by inhibiting the sale of interstate goods and services to residents of Missouri. Missouri has unconstitutionally exempted its own health care plan, Missouri Health Net, as well as numerous small, in-state businesses from its mandate. These waivers and exemptions are unavailable to out-of-state companies thereby creating a competitive advantage for the state of Missouri and certain in- state businesses at the expense of a national free market in health care services.

Because of these numerous constitutional violations, I ask the Governor to act for the good of the people of Missouri and to veto House Bill No. 1311.

Sincerely,

/s/ [State Rep.] Ed Emery

Sixty-ninth Day–Wednesday, May 12, 2010 1493

On motion of Representative Scharnhorst, CCS SCS HCS HBs 1311 & 1314 was read the
third time and passed by the following vote:

AYES: 144
Allen Atkins Aull Ayres Biermann
Bivins Brandom Bringer Brown 30 Brown 50
Brown 149 Bruns Burnett Calloway Carter
Casey Chappelle-Nadal Colona Conway Cooper
Corcoran Cunningham Curls Deeken Denison
Dieckhaus Diehl Dixon Dougherty Dusenberg
Englund Faith Fallert Fischer 107 Fisher 125
Flanigan Flook Frame Franz Funderburk
Gatschenberger Grill Grisamore Harris Hobbs
Hodges Holsman Hoskins 80 Hoskins 121 Hughes
Hummel Icet Jones 63 Jones 117 Kander
Keeney Kelly Kingery Kirkton Komo
Kratky Kraus Kuessner Lair Lampe
Largent Leara LeBlanc LeVota Liese
Lipke Loehner Low McClanahan McDonald
McGhee McNary McNeil Meadows Meiners
Molendorp Morris Munzlinger Nance Nasheed
Newman Nieves Nolte Norr Oxford
Pace Parkinson Pratt Quinn Riddle
Roorda Rucker Ruestman Ruzicka Salva
Sander Scavuzzo Schaaf Schad Scharnhorst
Schieffer Schlottach Schoemehl Schupp Shively
Silvey Skaggs Smith 14 Smith 150 Spreng
Still Storch Stream Sutherland Swinger
Talboy Thomson Tilley Todd Tracy
Viebrock Vogt Wallace Walsh Walton Gray
Wasson Webb Webber Wells Weter
Whitehead Wilson 119 Wilson 130 Witte Wright
Yaeger Zerr Zimmerman Mr Speaker

NOES: 016
Burlison Cox Davis Day Dethrow
Dugger Emery Ervin Guernsey Guest
Jones 89 Koenig Parson Sater Schoeller
Self

PRESENT: 000
ABSENT WITH LEAVE: 002
Pollock Stevenson
VACANCIES: 001

Speaker Pro Tem Pratt declared the bill passed.