Since my decision that Indiana would join the multi-state legal challenge to the new federal health care law, many Hoosiers have called or e-mailed my office with questions. Let me now explain why Indiana had to join the challenge.
Since my decision that Indiana would join the multi-state legal challenge to the new federal health care law, many Hoosiers have called or e-mailed my office with questions. Let me now explain why Indiana had to join the challenge.
Q. What gives you the authority to bring this lawsuit instead of a private plaintiff?
A. As attorney general, I am the only one with legal standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the state of Indiana. One of the obligations of my office is to defend our state government in court against …show more content…
Our contribution would be at most a few thousand dollars.
You might recall that in January, Sen. Dick Lugar triggered Indiana's one-of-a-kind state law that allows a member of Congress to ask the Indiana attorney general to prepare a report on federal legislation Congress is considering. Because of the effort my office already put into that 55-page report for Lugar on the health care bill, I hope our work will constitute an in-kind contribution to the multi-state legal challenge and further reduce our financial obligation.
Q. Are you trying to prevent uninsured people from having access to health insurance?
A. Absolutely not. As I have traveled around the state and met unemployed, uninsured Hoosiers hit hard by the recession, I recognize that the country needs health insurance reform. The question is whether parts of the new federal health care law are unconstitutional. This question must be asked of and answered by the U.S. Supreme Court, and a legal challenge is the only way to raise it with the court.
Q. What are your legal grounds for joining in this …show more content…
State government is not an extension of federal government. Because the new health care law coerces state governmental units and forces them to carry out federal policy, it might well violate the Tenth Amendment.
Q. Isn't the individual mandate just like Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security?
No. Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are government entitlement programs supported by payroll taxes, not insurance. By contrast, the individual mandate would require individuals to buy a commercial insurance product, regardless of whether they want it or can afford it; it is not part of a government-run "public option."
Q. Most of the attorneys general in other states who filed this lawsuit are Republicans. Did you join this suit for partisan reasons?
A. No. I had already announced March 22 that I would participate in a legal challenge, a day before 13 other state attorneys general (including the Democratic attorney general of Louisiana) filed their multi-state lawsuit minutes after the president signed it into law. I reviewed the options carefully before deciding that joining the multi-state challenge was the best option to raise our Indiana-specific claims. A total 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business are now participating in the case, and Virginia has brought
Since my decision that Indiana would join the multi-state legal challenge to the new federal health care law, many Hoosiers have called or e-mailed my office with questions. Let me now explain why Indiana had to join the challenge.
Q. What gives you the authority to bring this lawsuit instead of a private plaintiff?
A. As attorney general, I am the only one with legal standing to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the state of Indiana. One of the obligations of my office is to defend our state government in court against …show more content…
Our contribution would be at most a few thousand dollars.
You might recall that in January, Sen. Dick Lugar triggered Indiana's one-of-a-kind state law that allows a member of Congress to ask the Indiana attorney general to prepare a report on federal legislation Congress is considering. Because of the effort my office already put into that 55-page report for Lugar on the health care bill, I hope our work will constitute an in-kind contribution to the multi-state legal challenge and further reduce our financial obligation.
Q. Are you trying to prevent uninsured people from having access to health insurance?
A. Absolutely not. As I have traveled around the state and met unemployed, uninsured Hoosiers hit hard by the recession, I recognize that the country needs health insurance reform. The question is whether parts of the new federal health care law are unconstitutional. This question must be asked of and answered by the U.S. Supreme Court, and a legal challenge is the only way to raise it with the court.
Q. What are your legal grounds for joining in this …show more content…
State government is not an extension of federal government. Because the new health care law coerces state governmental units and forces them to carry out federal policy, it might well violate the Tenth Amendment.
Q. Isn't the individual mandate just like Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security?
No. Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are government entitlement programs supported by payroll taxes, not insurance. By contrast, the individual mandate would require individuals to buy a commercial insurance product, regardless of whether they want it or can afford it; it is not part of a government-run "public option."
Q. Most of the attorneys general in other states who filed this lawsuit are Republicans. Did you join this suit for partisan reasons?
A. No. I had already announced March 22 that I would participate in a legal challenge, a day before 13 other state attorneys general (including the Democratic attorney general of Louisiana) filed their multi-state lawsuit minutes after the president signed it into law. I reviewed the options carefully before deciding that joining the multi-state challenge was the best option to raise our Indiana-specific claims. A total 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business are now participating in the case, and Virginia has brought