April 5, 2011,
BOISE – On Tuesday, the Idaho Senate passed a bill that would effectively slow down implementation of the federal health care act in the state.
Nicknamed the “grandson of nullification”, HB 298 passed the Senate 24-11. The House approved the measure in March, and the bill will head for the governor’s desk.
The bill targets the discretionary aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and bars the state from implementing non-mandated aspects of the plan for one year. It also prevents the state from accepting federal money to implement the plan.
(2) No department, agency or political subdivision of the state of Idaho shall establish any program, promulgate any rule, policy, guideline or plan or change any program, rule, policy or guideline to implement discretionary provisions of the PPACA.
(3) No department, agency or political subdivision, public officer or employee of the state of Idaho shall enter into any agreement or any obligation to implement discretionary provisions of the PPACA.
The bill got its nickname when Representative Vito Barbieri and 21 co-sponsors introduced HB 298 as an alternative after a committee refused to allow a stronger bill declaring the act null and void to go to the full Senate.
The original nullification bill passed the House by a wide margin.
“Nothing in this stops our state from implementing a health care exchange,” said Sen. Monty Pearce (R-New Plymouth),the bill’s Senate sponsor. “We at least need to hold it out of Idaho as long as we can.”
Still, the water downed bill makes a strong statement against the overreaching , unconstitutional health care act.
The power to require or regulate a person’s choice in the mode of securing health care services, require employers to provide health insurance coverage to their employees, determine the content of health insurance policies, or limit the construction or expansion of hospital or medical facilities or to impose a penalty related thereto, is not found in the Constitution of the United States of America, and is therefore a power reserved to the people pursuant to the Ninth Amendment, and to the several states pursuant to the Tenth Amendment.
While HB 298 does not include penalties on federal agents for attempting for enforce the PPACA as similar state bills do, this legislation still serve as an effective nullification of the federal health care act, like states refusing compliance with marijuana laws and real ID,
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The Tenth Amendment Center has released the Federal Health Care Nullification Act, which directly nullifies the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” on a state level. Click here to learn more about the bill. CLICK HERE to track the Nullification Act in states around the country.
