ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Proposition C, the ballot issue declaring Missourians have the right to opt out of mandatory health insurance in the federal healthcare plan, passed by a landslide. The result was expected, largely due to the fact there was little organized opposition against the measure. But there are questions as to whether the law can be legally enforced.Most legal experts say Prop C is a clear violation of federal law. If the new healthcare law requires people to carry health insurance, a state law can't overrule it.
At a watch party for supporters in Town and Country, Tuesday, supporters remained upbeat. They're well aware the Missouri law is in direct conflict with the feds, but they see another benefit to its passage: putting federal healthcare in front of a judge.
"We believe it will force a showdown in the court system," Margaret Walker of the group, I Heard the People Say, told FOX 2. "We do not know how that will all go. We'll leave the legalities to them. We're just fighting for freedom."
She says the issue is the federal government requiring people to purchase what they don't want.
"The federal law doesn't include the fed forcing us to buy a product, and that's where they've gone wrong," she insists. "And were hoping to stand up to that."
Opponents of the proposition included most healthcare providers, including the Missouri Hospital Association, but there was very little organized effort to defeat it.
In an airing of the Jaco Report on Sunday, Barnes Jewish HealthCare President and CEO Steven Lipstein said the new federal health plan is a first step in the right direction, and called for people to oppose Proposition C. "It's just not fair for some people to voluntarily decide not to have health insurance and for the financial cost of their care be borne by people that do have health insurance."
Many accuse Proposition C organizers of simply orchestrating the vote to make the Obama administration look bad. It's the first of several such votes scheduled around the country, which are being framed as a referendum on healthcare reform.
The Missouri vote has drawn national attention.
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It's not often Missouri gets national attention for a primary election, but it's happening this year because of Proposition C. This measure is viewed by many as the first test of the president's health care plan at the ballot box. Election Day is Tuesday, so we have broken down what Proposition C is all about since the language on the ballot is a little confusing.
Think of Proposition C not so much as a referendum on the entire health care bill, but one specific part should Missouri opt out of a provision requiring everyone to purchase health insurance?
That's the gist of Prop C.
Here's part of the language you'll see when you head to the polls should state law be amended to "deny the government authority to penalize citizens for refusing to purchase private insurance."
A yes vote on Prop C means you support Missouri's right to opt-out of the mandatory requirement that everyone purchase health insurance.
A no vote on Prop C says you're in favor of the federal government requiring everyone in all 50 states to buy health insurance or face a fine.
So why all the fuss?
Missouri is the first state to put any part of the health care bill to voters. At least two other states have similar ballot measures pending.
If Prop C passes, it's thought to be a blow to Democrats who are already struggling to retain seats in the mid-term election.
Even if it does pass, a Prop C victory is largely symbolic. Many legal scholars think the courts would overturn it based on the supremacy clause of the constitution, meaning state law cannot trump federal law.
Regardless of what happens with Prop C Tuesday in Missouri, there are countless legal challenges ahead for the health care bill.
But the one here, Tuesday, is just the first of its kind and the nation will be watching.
