the arizona strategy
Arizona Daily Star
Howard Fischer, CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
State House committee OKs measure rejecting federal health-care mandate
PHOENIX — A state House panel voted Tuesday to allow Arizonans to vote to opt out of any new national health-care plan adopted by Congress.
HCR 2014 would constitutionally overrule any law or regulation compelling an individual or company to participate in any health-care system. That would bar not only mandatory enrollment but any fines against those who refuse to enroll.
It also would guarantee individuals would have the right to buy health-care services above and beyond anything provided by the government or private insurance. And it would bar the government from penalizing doctors who provide, and charge for, those services.
The measure, which now goes to the full House after a 6-3 party-line vote by the Republican-controlled Committee on Health and Human Services, is modeled on Proposition 101, which was narrowly defeated by voters last year. It also will eventually have to be approved by voters.
House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, a proponent of the new measure, said last year's initiative was killed after "a powerful campaign of distortion" by its opponents.
Adams also said the wording of this measure is clearer, and he believes that voters will approve the plan this time when it appears on the 2010 ballot.
Christie Herrera, who works for the American Legislative Exchange Council, said the measure is needed to preclude the kind of "socialized medicine" being considered in Washington, which exists in some other countries.
But even attorney Clint Bolick of the Goldwater Institute, who supports HCR 2014, conceded that if the proposal becomes part of the state constitution, it would set the stage for a legal fight with the federal government over any "single-payer" plan Congress might approve, whether before or after the 2010 election.
"It will set up a federalism clash," Bolick said, adding that attorneys for Arizona would have to argue in court that the rights of the state and the rights of individuals to make their own health-care choices trump any right of Congress to enact this kind of health-care plan.
Eric Novack, a Phoenix orthopedic surgeon who crafted the unsuccessful 2008 initiative, told committee members that they should be alarmed about what some members of Congress are considering.
"Make no mistake. The very ability for everyone in this room and your families to seek out the kind of health care you believe is best is under direct assault," he said. "And the risk that you will lose control over your health and health care has never been greater."
Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, who is sponsoring the legislation, said the aim is "to prevent the state or other government entities from forcing residents to be subject to the practice of medicine by government."
While there has been talk of some sort of national health-care plan, there is no actual proposal that is ready for congressional debate. Still, Barto said, lawmakers here need to be proactive to ensure whatever is enacted does not interfere with the rights of Arizonans.
Barto acknowledged that nothing in the proposal addresses the high cost of health care. Instead, she cited various other measures making their way through the Legislature that sponsors say would lower the cost of health insurance.
Rep. David Bradley, D-Tucson, said he appreciates those efforts.
"But always there's someone left behind — always," he said. And Bradley said those who can't afford health insurance show up in emergency rooms when they get sick, many unable to pay their bills, passing along the costs to others.
Bradley complained that this bill takes one possible solution off the table, at least in Arizona. He said before lawmakers do that, they need to focus on what works best for patients.
"Our life expectancy, we're at 24th," he said, citing statistics from the World Health Organization. By contrast, Bradley said, Canada and the United Kingdom, which have government-controlled plans, rank 12th and 14th, respectively.
And Bradley said the United States leads the world in health-care spending as a percentage of gross domestic product. In those rankings, Canada is 18th and the United Kingdom is 41st.
Adams, however, said those numbers ignore how real people are affected. Not all the talk about a government-run or government-regulated universal health-care system has been on the national level.
Rep. Phil Lopes, D-Tucson, has crafted his own version of such a plan at the state level. It would require every resident to enroll in a government-run plan and pay into the system based on income. That provision in HB 2188, which has not received a hearing, directly conflicts with what is in HCR 2014.
But Lopes' proposal would allow individuals who want specialized care not provided by the state plan to use their own money to obtain it.
Lopes, who voted against Barto's proposal, defended the concept.
"It's like being compelled to pay primary property taxes even though you don't have any kids in the public schools," he said. "It's for the collective good."
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