Engler: Protecting Your Choice in Healthcare

This week, the Senate passed an important measure to secure the rights of Missourians. When the President signed the federal healthcare bill passed by Congress earlier this year, it created an unprecedented mandate that all Americans have healthcare coverage approved by the government. The work we completed this week would prevent Missourians from being forced to buy government run healthcare, protecting their freedom.

House Bill 1764 contains a measure that, if approved by voters, would prohibit any federal law from interfering with an individual’s healthcare freedom. The bill, which is now back in the House, would be placed before voters on the August 2010 ballot. The referendum would specify that no law could force a patient, employer, or healthcare provider to participate in any government or privately run healthcare system.

Originally, this provision was contained in Senate Joint Resolution 25, which would have put the measure forward as a constitutional amendment, instead of a law. But rather than forcing a bill through the process, as Democrats did in Washington, D.C., we worked to find a way to get the bill to a vote amicably with the minority party. The bill passed with a strong, bipartisan majority of 28 to 6.

This bill keeps Missourians in the driver’s seat when it comes to making healthcare decisions. If passed by the House, voters will be able to make their voices heard at the polls this August. I co-sponsored the original measure because I want Missourians to have freedom in their healthcare choices. The referendum will still give people the option to participate in any federal healthcare plan, but they will also have the ability to make their own choices when it comes to healthcare.

In the final week of session, one of our focuses will be “Rebooting Government” legislation. Senate members worked hard earlier this session to come up with ideas, many of which were submitted by the public, to save costs in state government. The result is a series of bills affecting public safety, education, state administration, and corrections. These bills moved quickly through the Senate, but are now awaiting action in the House. We will push to pass these and other bills that will benefit Missouri’s future in our final week of the 2010 legislative session.