The Conservative Political Action Conference isn’t all fiery speeches and political red meat. Following the rousing speech by Rep. Mike Pence on Friday, a much more subdued presentation by Dr. Eric Novack described the efforts of states to pass a version of the Health Care Freedom Act, which I previously discussed here. Much has happened since I last talked about the efforts of states to protect individual health care rights.
The number of states advancing legislation to protect individual choice from federal mandates has increased since December from 24 states to 35. But merely introducing legislation isn’t enough; we need victories.
Virginia delivered a first step toward just that, as its state House recently passed a version of the Health Care Freedom Act. Elsewhere, the Tennessee Senate passed the bill 26-1, while other states, such as Idaho, have successfully advanced the bill out of committee.
These bills offer to protect citizens in two crucial ways. First, they would guarantee the right to purchase care directly, so that bureaucrats cannot be forced between patients and doctors against their will. Second, it would assure that citizens are protected from unconstitutional mandates to purchase insurance by allowing them to opt-out from any such federal program.
Although the election of Scott Brown derailed much of the momentum for ObamaCare, it is important to continue pushing legislation that would protect citizens from a new public mandate. As Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama conspire to find alternative ways to ram government-run health care down our throats, we must continue to fight them with any tools available. Keep putting pressure on national leaders. Keep electing people who pledge to fight ObamaCare. But also fight in your backyard, and tell your state representatives that they are still a critical line of defense.
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