Nov. 14, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement calling upon the Republican Governors Association (RGA) to oppose the implementation of Obamacare at the state level in response to a letter from the RGA requesting more time from the Obama Administration to make a decision on state exchanges:
“It is incredible that the Republican Governors Association is struggling trying to figure out what to do about Obamacare’s provision that states form a health insurance exchange. If a majority of Republican governors simply followed Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s lead and refused to implement a state exchange, one of Obamacare’s most repressive mandates would fall apart.
“The statute provides that the enforcement of Obamacare’s employer mandate rests with the state health insurance exchange. If a state refuses to establish the exchange, there can be no enforcement under the actual law that was passed by the Pelosi-Reid Congress and signed by President Obama.
“This effectively destroys the employer mandate, which is the lynchpin of Obamacare’s implementation. The employer mandate dictates what health insurance businesses must provide their employees as well as cost sharing options with massive penalties for failure to comply that can only be imposed by state exchanges.
“The failure by the RGA to take a strong stand right now against the state health insurance exchanges brings into question their commitment against the federal takeover of our nation’s health care system.
“Incredibly, the RGA has already asked the Obama Administration to clarify issues regarding the state health insurance exchanges on two other occasions with little if any response.
“Clearly, the Obama Administration is playing chicken, and Republican governors should call their bluff by refusing to take any action to implement the federal statute.
“To do anything else would make Republican governors complicit in the extortion of their own private businesses through Obamacare.
“This is Obamacare’s last stand, and it’s time for every Republican governor to protect their own citizens from its effects. Anything else is would make them equal partners in the destruction of our nation’s health care system.”
Note: Yesterday, ALG sent 26 letters to Republican governors either urging them not to implement, or praising for not implementing state exchanges in the health care law.
Attachments:
“Why governors should not implement state insurance exchanges under Obamacare,” By Bill Wilson, Nov. 14, 2012 at http://netrightdaily.com/2012/11/why-governors-should-not-implement-state-insurance-exchanges-under-obamacare/ .
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
###