(KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
This week, a look at health care and the Proposition C vote in Missouri on August 3rd. When President Obama signed health care reform into law, the debate was far from over. In fact, in many ways, it was just starting. The escalating cost of health care and the millions of Americans without insurance were the twin targets of reform. Long-term, reform may drive down costs. Short-term, it requires insurance companies to provide coverage despite pre-existing conditions. And it also requires all Americans to have health insurance.Missouri Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder has sued the federal government because of that mandate. So have officials in two dozen other states. The President's conservative opponents claim health reform is a federal takeover of health care. And the centerpiece of that objection is the mandate that each individual has to have insurance.
So in Missouri, opponents of health reform put proposition c on next tuesday's ballot.
The statewide ballot proposition reads "Shall Missouri statutes be amended to deny the government authority to penalize citizens for refusing to purchase private health insurance or infringe upon the right to offer or accept direct payment for lawful health care services, and modify laws regarding the liquidation of certain domestic insurance companies?"
Opponents of what they say is a radical re-making of health care say a yes vote will overturn health care reform in Missouri. The President's supporters say health reform is already providing coverage for children and that it now makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
But they say that can't work unless everyone's required to have medical insurance. They say, without that mandate, insurance companies can't be forced to provide coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. They say that would destroy health reform completely and that Missourians should vote no on Prop C
Opponents of proposition c also say the vote is meaningless because no state can overturn federal law. Federal law trumps state law...according to the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause. They say the entire vote is merely designed to score political points...and that states can not overturn health care reform.
So those are the battle lines. Voting yes means saying Missouri can withdraw from health reform. A no vote means supporting health reform. But whether it's meaningful or not, whether it's even legal or not, Tuesday's vote is the first time any Americans will have voted on anything to do with health care reform.
