ATLANTA — State Representatives Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine) announced the passage of House Bill 707 by the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday, March 3, Day 30 of the 2014 legislative session. Sponsored by Rep. Spencer, HB 707 bans the state from participating in significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
House Bill 707 has five prohibitions that are designed to protect our state’s resources. Specifically, HB 707 would prohibit any state agency, department or political subdivision from using resources or spending funds to advocate for the expansion of Medicaid. The bill would also prohibit the state of Georgia from running an insurance exchange; refuses federal grant money for the purpose of creating or running a state insurance exchange, and ends the University of Georgia Health Navigator Program. Lastly, HB 707 would prohibit the Commissioner of Insurance from investigating or enforcing any alleged violation of federal health insurance requirements mandated by Obamacare. HB 707 passed the House by a vote of 115-59.
Regarding HB 707, Rep. Spencer stated:
“Disputes over these mandates arise under federal, not state law. The federal Department of Health and Human Services can be expected to seek to commandeer the machinery of Georgia’s Commissioner of Insurance to enforce them or to investigate alleged violations. Currently, there is no federal health insurance agency and Congress is not likely to create one given the substantial opposition to Obamacare.
Furthermore, these prohibitions will protect state resources from being commandeered and conscripted by the federal government. The provision prohibiting the Georgia Insurance Commissioner from investigating or enforcing violations of federally mandated health insurance requirements will prove to protect state resources from being utilized to enforce the ACA. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner serves as the enforcement arm for insurance regulation in the state. The federal government has no enforcement arm. It assumed the State Insurance Commissioners would enforce all of the provisions of the ACA. So, when people have issues with their mandated coverage, they will have to take their grievances to the federal government. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner is only required to enforce state laws and mandates.
At this point, it remains unclear at the federal level who individuals will even call. This aspect of the ACA is another design flaw that the state of Georgia will refuse to support. Issues the Georgia Insurance Commissioner will not address include: prohibiting a denial of insurance for preexisting conditions, requiring dependent coverage for children up to age 26, and proscribing lifetime or yearly dollar limits on coverage of essential health benefits.
Additionally, portions of this bill will work hand-in-hand with HB 990 to make it more difficult to expand Medicaid in Georgia. HB 990 would require legislative approval for expansion of the program, barring the governor from doing it by executive order.
These provisions stand on solid legal ground under the anti-commandeering doctrine. It rests primarily on four SCOTUS cases: Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842), New York v. US (1992), Printz v. US (1997) and National Federation of Businesses v. Sebelius. (2012) The Printz case serves the cornerstone. Writing for the majority, Justice Scalia asserted that commandeering is incompatible with the constitutional system.”
HB 707 will now go to the Senate for consideration.
For more information on HB 707, click here.
Representative Jason Spencer represents the citizens of District 180, which includes Camden, Charlton, and Ware counties. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves as the Secretary of the Special Rules Committee. He also serves on the Game Fish & Parks, Human Relations & Aging, and Juvenile Justice committees.
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