Ohio will not join about a dozen other states in lawsuits that seek to overturn the recently passed federal health overhaul, Attorney General Richard Cordray said.
Cordray said he doesn’t believe the lawsuits filed against the overhaul “have any merit whatsoever,” so participating would be “a waste of taxpayer resources.” Cordray, a Democrat, spoke at a news conference in Columbus.
Eight congressional Republicans from Ohio and 21 state senators had formally requested that Cordray join attorneys general from about a dozen states in challenging the constitutionality of the new law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
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Many of those around the country who back the lawsuits charge that the federal health overhaul was unconstitutional in two ways: First, the overhaul law’s so-called “individual mandate” violates the constitution because it requires individuals who can afford health insurance to purchase it, or face a financial penalty. “Forcing Ohioans to purchase health care coverage or face monetary penalties flies in the face of the freedoms upon which this country and our state were founded,” the Republican state senators wrote in a letter to Cordray.
Second, lawsuit backers also argue that a provision of the health-overhaul law that sets up insurance marketplaces called “exchanges” violates 10th Amendment protections of state sovereignty.
Cordray rejected both arguments. His likely Republican opponent in the next election for attorney general, former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, has said he would file suit against the overhaul law on his first day in office.
In a related development, Cordray this week is expected to decide whether a proposed ballot issue regarding the health overhaul can go forward. Opponents of the law seek to propose an amendment to the state constitution that would declare that no law could force an individual, employer, or health care provider to participate in the reforms, the Associated Press reports.
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With regard to the ballot issue, Cordray said it’s his job to determine whether the language that would appear on the ballot accurately reflects the amendment’s substance. If Cordray OKs the language, backers could immediately begin collecting signatures in an attempt to get the measure on ballots for November elections.
Photo from flickr user OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov
