Health care law committee to begin work

OKLAHOMA CITY – Legislative leaders yesterday announced membership and meetings of the Joint Committee on Federal Health Care Law, a special legislative committee that will study how the new federal health care law affects Oklahoma.

Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman and House Speaker Kris Steele ordered the formation of the joint committee this past legislative session to ensure Oklahoma properly addresses the Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

At the direction of co-chairmen Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Glen Mulready, R-Tulsa, the Joint Committee on Federal Health Care Law will do its work through a series of public meetings in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The committee’s first meeting will be Sept. 14 in Oklahoma City. The committee is expected to meet at least five times through November.

“Having suitable health care options in Oklahoma is an issue the Legislature takes very seriously and intends to proactively protect and address through this committee,” said Stanislawski, a Certified Financial Planner. “Oklahoma patients, taxpayers, businesses, health practitioners, insurers and others all have wide-ranging questions and concerns about this largely unwanted new federal law. The law will affect all Oklahomans, some in significant ways, so this committee will seek to address all relevant questions and concerns for the benefit of all Oklahomans.”

Among the topics to be studied are the state of health care in Oklahoma, logistics and ramifications of implementing the federal health care law, implementation timelines, responses to the law and the costs local governments and businesses may face as a result of the law.

The committee will also explore the implications Oklahoma’s lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality may have on the law’s implementation here.

“Clearly, most Oklahomans oppose this law. While we have taken steps to guard against harmful portions of the law, we would be remiss if we did not continue reviewing it so we can do our best to protect a choice-based, free-market health care system for Oklahomans,” said Mulready, a 28-year insurance industry veteran. “Simply put, the committee will show Oklahoma what to expect from this law, how we can continue to protect Oklahoma’s interests and how we can make sure we are best prepared as a state.”

The committee will solicit testimony and recommendations from a wide range of public and private sector experts. It is expected to hear from state and federal policymakers, business officials, insurance agents and brokers, legal experts, health care industry officials and more.

“All parties will be at the table working to make sure Oklahomans have health care choices, not mandates,” said Bingman, R-Sapulpa. “This is an opportunity for Oklahoma to assert our state’s rights and I’m confident all stakeholders will rise to the challenge so we can avoid dangerous federal mandates wherever possible.”

Ultimately, the committee will make recommendations on how the state should address components of the federal health care law.

“The committee will explore all possibilities for putting forth Oklahoma solutions that support a free market health care system,” said Steele, R-Shawnee. “Not everything is clear about this law, and most of us don’t like it, but what we do know is Oklahoma cannot afford to be caught flat-footed, unprepared and unprotected if it takes effect. As much as anything else, this committee ensures Oklahoma is prepared.”

Committee members are:

Sen. Gary Stanislawski, R-Tulsa, co-chair

Rep. Glen Mulready, R-Tulsa, co-chair

Sen. Cliff Aldridge, R-Oklahoma City

Sen. Bill Brown, R-Broken Arrow

Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa

Sen. Sean Burrage, D-Claremore

Sen. John Sparks, D-Norman

Rep. Doug Cox, R-Grove

Rep. Randy Grau, R-Edmond

Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City

Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, D-Tulsa

Rep. Danny Morgan, D-Prague

Legislative Leaders Call for Legal Action Against Federal Health Care Reform

Honorable Drew Edmondson
Oklahoma Attorney General
313 N.E. 21st Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Dear General Edmondson,

As you know, the United States House of Representatives met yesterday in a rare Sunday session. By a count of 219-212, the House passed the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, frequently referred to as “Obamacare.” No members of Oklahoma's delegation supported the legislation. As you also may know, we have raised constitutionality questions about this measure for some time. We have outlined those concerns in Senate Joint Resolution 64, which passed the Oklahoma State Senate on February 24 and is pending in the House. Senator Orrin Hatch, a distinguished lawyer and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee has expressed similar concerns as published in the Wall Street Journal on January 2, 2010. A group of Republican Attorneys General have also stated they believe this bill is outside the scope of the enumerated powers granted to Congress by the Constitution.

As we have pointed out numerous times over the preceding months, this legislation will burden our state budget with tens of millions of dollars in new, unfunded health care mandates – money that Oklahoma simply doesn’t have. If the measure becomes law, it will wreck Oklahoma’s already fragile state budget and place undue economic hardships on the people and businesses of our great state.

Some of the provisions of the bill that are likely unconstitutional include: requiring ALL Americans to purchase health insurance and fining or jailing them if they don’t; special arrangements for states contained in the reconciled version of the legislation (e.g., Louisiana and Florida) are inconsistent with the protections afforded by the Constitution against arbitrary legislation; and the requirement that states establish benefit exchanges runs counter to constitutional limitations that forbid the federal government from commandeering any branch of state government to administer a federal program.

As Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma, you are in a unique position to seek redress against the federal government. We urge you and your staff to immediately begin preparations to file suit in U.S. District Court on behalf of our state to challenge the constitutionality of yesterday’s enactment.

We had hoped to send a joint resolution signed by the Governor to formally present this request. However, the actions of Congress yesterday require a more timely approach. The people of our state do not want it. The taxpayers of our state cannot afford it. We urge you to act quickly to defend Oklahoma against the efforts by President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid to burden our state (indeed, our entire nation) with their partisan plan for government-run health care.



Sincerely,



Glenn Coffee Chris Benge
President Pro Tempore Speaker
Oklahoma State Senate Oklahoma House of Representatives

Governor Opposes Effort to Rein in Insurance Increases

OKLAHOMA CITY (April 30, 2009) – Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed legislation that could prevent sudden, arbitrary increases in health insurance rates.

“By opposing this sensible reform, the governor has left the door open for future Legislatures to arbitrarily drive up insurance prices for Oklahomans,” said state Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia.

“This bill would have simply required the Legislature to carefully consider any changes to state law that could increase insurance prices. Evidently, the governor would prefer to shoot from the hip and act without a prudent and wise screening process allowing us to know of any potential collateral damage our actions may have on our constituents.”

House Bill 1975, by Moore, would give lawmakers more financial information about health care mandates before they vote on them.

The bill would have required any legislation affecting health insurance mandates to be introduced in odd-numbered years, giving lawmakers a year to study the issue before voting on it in even-numbered years.

“This legislation would have guaranteed a high level of scrutiny on mandate legislation so lawmakers know the actual costs before casting a vote,” said House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa. “Given how many families already struggle to afford health insurance, it makes sense to carefully consider proposed changes to state law that could drive up prices and increase the number of uninsured Oklahomans.”

Three years ago, a similar law was enacted to put in place the same scrutiny for bills with a negative fiscal impact pertaining to the state’s retirement systems, and that bill passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate.

Gov. Henry vetoes bill restricting consideration and passage of insurance mandate legislation

(Oklahoma City) Saying it would hinder the state’s ability to respond to emergencies, Gov. Henry today vetoed a bill that would have placed tight restrictions on the consideration and passage of legislation dealing with insurance mandates for health care coverage.

House Bill 1975 would have mandated that such insurance legislation could only be introduced in odd-numbered years and approved in even-numbered years of a legislative session. The bill would have also required a 75 percent super-majority vote to lift the mandate in case of an emergency.

In related action, Gov. Henry signed into law Senate Bill 822, legislation that will create a task force to study the insurance mandate issue.