Even though, Florida has the third most uninsured residents in the country Governor Rick Scott recently turned down federal money related to the Obama health care plan.
Pam Bondi, Florida’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform, claiming that the bill is
unconstitutional.
Scott ran for Governor as an opponent to Obamacare, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he is rejecting grant money that is tied to it. During his run for office, Scott went on Newsmax.tv and said, “Obamacare will be a job killer. Employers will not be able to cover the cost of their employees and be forced to move their jobs overseas.”
However, Scott kept some of the money that was offered to the state. He kept $13 million for an abstinence education grant, but he turned down $11 million in funding to educate teens about pregnancy and HIV.
Justice Roger Vinson of the U.S. District Court in Pensacola ruled against healthcare reform and called it unconstitutional. A Virginia judge ruled similarly to Vinson, and Obamacare will be taken up by the Supreme Court of Appeals.
In response to Vinson’s ruling Pam Bondi said in her weekly newsletter, “I am encouraged by the judge’s response to our arguments that the health care law’s Medicaid expansion unconstitutionally coerces the states by forcing them to assume billions in uncompensated Medicaid costs. The health care law vastly exceeds Congress’s legitimate authority.”
Bondi ran for office with the intention of upholding the constitution and fighting the federal health care law, and she’s kept her word by taking on Obamacare.
Republicans called the bill a tax. Obama’s administration recently came out saying that it is a tax, but they’re allowed
under the constitution to raise taxes to pay for the bill.
Bondi adamantly forced the issue on her website that the health care bill goes against the constitution by forcing Americans to purchase healthcare. “Simply put, the federal government failed to justify Congress’s decision, for the first time in American history, to force citizens to purchase a product,” said Bondi.
Vermont’s Democratic Representative Peter Welch is working to defend the bill. He went on CBSNEWS and said, “We can fight and take a stand to defend the healthcare provisions that make a difference to American people.” One of the provisions he talked about was patients with preexisting
conditions being able to receive affordable insurance under the reform.
The health care bill is being challenged in more than 20 states. It isn’t certain whether the courts will rule against Obamacare or not. If they rule that it upholds the constitution, there could be a change in policy for the Governor and attorney general.
