A flurry of Health Care Freedom Acts – both as bills and resolutions for state constitutional amendments – have been prefiled for the 2011 legislative session in Texas. As of this writing, there are currently 7 that have been introduced. The following are the bill numbers, links to the full text, and a brief overview of the direction of the legislation:

House Bill 32 (HB32)

No resident of this state, regardless of whether he has or is eligible for health insurance coverage under any policy or program provided by or through his employer, or a plan sponsored by the state or the federal government, shall be required to obtain or maintain a policy of individual insurance coverage except as required by a court or a governmental agency or department where an individual is named a party in a judicial or administrative proceeding. No provision of this title shall render a resident of this state liable for any penalty, assessment, fee, or fine as a result of his failure to procure or obtain health insurance coverage.

House Bill 124 (HB124)

This state, an agency of this state, or a health care system may not:
(1) impose a fine or penalty on an individual or the individual’s employer for direct payment for a health care service;
(2) impose a fine or penalty on a health care provider for accepting direct payment for a health care service; or

House Bill 144 (HB144)

This state, an agency of this state, or a health care system may not:
(1) impose a fine or penalty on an individual or the individual’s employer for direct payment for a health care service;
(2) impose a fine or penalty on a health care provider for accepting direct payment for a health care service; or

House Bill 203 (HB203)

This state, an agency of this state, or a health care system may not:
(1) impose a fine or penalty on an individual or the individual’s employer for direct payment for a health care service;
(2) impose a fine or penalty on a health care provider for accepting direct payment for a health care service; or

House Joint Resolution 24 (HJR24)

proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the rights of individuals to choose or decline to choose to purchase health insurance coverage.

House Joint Resolution 27 (HJR27)

proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the rights of individuals to choose or decline to choose to purchase health insurance coverage.

House Joint Resolution 30 (HJR30)

proposing a constitutional amendment relating to the rights of individuals to choose or decline to choose to purchase health insurance coverage.

That’s it – so far. You’ll notice that they all address just the mandated coverage of health care, and none go to the core issue – that the federal government is not authorized by the constitution to be in the health care business. period. A good first step for Texas, nonetheless. We hope to see a courageous legislator in Texas take up the banner of the Federal Health Care Nullification Act.

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CLICK HERE to view the Tenth Amendment Center’s Health Care Freedom Act legislative tracking page

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.

Michael Boldin

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