By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Florida voters will be asked in November to defy federal attempts to require Florida residents to carry health insurance under a proposed constitutional amendment that cleared its last legislative hurdle Thursday.
In separate actions and following debate in both chambers, the House and Senate approved HJR 37, a joint resolution meant to nullify recent federal health care reforms if approved by voters in November, though opponents question whether the proposal will stand up in the courts.
The House vote was 75-42. The Senate hours later passed the same measure by a 26-11 vote. As a proposed constitutional amendment, the measure does not need to be approved by the governor.
If approved by 60 percent of voters, the amendment would insulate the state from federal mandates if federal courts rule in the state’s favor in a lawsuit filed in March by Florida and 12 other states challenging the constitutionality of the federal law. Supporters say that the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, which says that federal law takes precedence over conflicting state laws, wouldn’t be applicable if the new federal law is found to be unconstitutional.
Backers of the amendment say individuals should have a right to choose whether they want to pay for health insurance. They also argue it will raise taxes for citizens.
In response to arguments by Democrats, who said the bill was patently unconstitutional, Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, asked: “Are we now talking about freedom being unconstitutional?”
Backers point to skyrocketing Medicaid costs as reason enough to prevent the federal mandate, saying the program will cost citizens far more than the $900 billion estimated by federal economists.
“It’s a budget-busting mess,” said Rep. Mike Horner, R-Kissimmee.
Critics of the proposed amendment say it is misleading and shortsighted. Floridians and other U.S. residents already pay for government health care through Medicare and Medicaid programs, the latter of which serves the country’s poorest citizens.
Further, many argued that the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution clearly asserts that federal law trumps a state’s ability to opt out.
“This is unfortunately, an ideological frolic,” said Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, who argued that lawmakers have spent more time debating efforts to rein in health care that trying to improve it.
But the legality of the amendment will remain in question until a court rules on whether the U.S. Constitution trumps the ability of the states to opt out.
In March, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum was among the first attorneys general to contest the federal legislation, which backers say would provide health insurance to 32 million uninsured U.S. citizens and prevent insurance companies from drastically raising rates or dropping existing customers. So far, more than a dozen states have signed on to that lawsuit, which is underway in federal court in Pensacola.
On Thursday, Gelber said the Legislature should spend as much time trying to expand health care coverage in Florida as it has trying to block the federal law this session, saying that the only state program created recently to try to help people without insurance – the “Cover Florida” program – doesn’t go far enough. Cover Florida offers encourages companies to offer optional low-cost policies with fewer mandates for what they cover. Critics have said hardly anyone has signed up for the policies, so they’re not making a dent in the problem.
“In the entire time I’ve been in the Legislature, the only thing we have done about health care is Cover Florida, which is ironically named,” Gelber said. “Because about 24 people a day go into Cover Florida. If you do the math, in about 500 years, Cover Florida will cover Florida.”
