AUGUSTA – Republican state lawmakers want Maine Attorney General Janet Mills to join a multistate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new federal health care law.
State Rep. Andre Cushing, R-Hampden, who is leading the effort, said he thinks the mandate included in the law, which would require people to buy health insurance beginning in 2014, is unconstitutional.
“Congress has no authority to order you to buy a product or service you don’t want,” he said in a statement Wednesday. All Maine House Republicans had signed on in support of the joint resolution filed by Cushing, with the exception of the two members of leadership who had not been asked, according to the release.
For the measure to be considered by the full Legislature, it would need approval of the 10-member Legislative Council. The council, composed of House and Senate leaders from both parties, has six Democrats and four Republicans.
Kate Simmons, a spokeswoman for Mills, who is a Democrat, told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday that Maine would not join the lawsuit being pursued by 13 other states because Mills does not believe there is a constitutional basis for it.
Simmons told the Bangor Daily News that Mills looked at the complaints of the other states and decided they were “creative but not well-founded.”
Of the attorneys general pursuing the lawsuit, all but one are Republicans. The Democrat, James Caldwell of Louisiana, joined the suit because he was asked to by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal, he told The Associated Press. Of the Republicans, three are running for governor, one for U.S. Senate and at least four are running for re-election.
The Legislative Council is scheduled to meet Thursday.
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SO now we all know the
SO now we all know the republicans will make this an issue this year, telling those who will listen that they were against it and you need to vote them in to get rid of it...then the democrats will come and say look we're the great people because we got it passed...I am so looking forward to the election sas it will be a referendum ationwide on how AMERICA feels about the health care reform package and by then we will know so much more about it. If Obama wants a second term he might want to consider fixing that pesky unemployment program, reducing the national debt which is growing exponentially under his leadership and most of all, show the people that he actually does care about them.
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SEC. 5210. ESTABLISHING A READY RESERVE CORPS.
14 Section 203 of the Public Health Service Act (42
15 U.S.C. 204) is amended to read as follows:
16 ‘‘SEC. 203. COMMISSIONED CORPS AND READY RESERVE
17 CORPS.
18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Service
20 a commissioned Regular Corps and a Ready Reserve
21 Corps for service in time of national emergency.
22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—All commissioned officers
23 shall be citizens of the United States and shall be ap24
pointed without regard to the civil-service laws and
1313
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1 compensated without regard to the Classification Act
2 of 1923, as amended.
3 ‘‘(3) APPOINTMENT.—Commissioned officers of
4 the Ready Reserve Corps shall be appointed by the
5 President and commissioned officers of the Regular
6 Corps shall be appointed by the President with the
7 advice and consent of the Senate.
8 ‘‘(4) ACTIVE DUTY.—Commissioned officers of the
9 Ready Reserve Corps shall at all times be subject to
10 call to active duty by the Surgeon General, including
11 active duty for the purpose of training.
12 ‘‘(5) WARRANT OFFICERS.—Warrant officers
13 may be appointed to the Service for the purpose of
14 providing support to the health and delivery systems
15 maintained by the Service and any warrant officer
16 appointed to the Service shall be considered for pur17
poses of this Act and title 37, United States Code, to
18 be a commissioned officer within the Commissioned
19 Corps of the Service.
20 ‘‘(b) ASSIMILATING RESERVE CORP OFFICERS INTO
21 THE REGULAR CORPS.—Effective on the date of enactment
22 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, all indi23
viduals classified as officers in the Reserve Corps under this
24 section (as such section existed on the day before the date
1314
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1 of enactment of such Act) and serving on active duty shall
2 be deemed to be commissioned officers of the Regular Corps.
3 ‘‘(c) PURPOSE AND USE OF READY RESEARCH.—
4 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Ready Re5
serve Corps is to fulfill the need to have additional
6 Commissioned Corps personnel available on short no7
tice (similar to the uniformed service’s reserve pro8
gram) to assist regular Commissioned Corps per9
sonnel to meet both routine public health and emer10
gency response missions.
11 ‘‘(2) USES.—The Ready Reserve Corps shall—
12 ‘‘(A) participate in routine training to meet
13 the general and specific needs of the Commis14
sioned Corps;
15 ‘‘(B) be available and ready for involuntary
16 calls to active duty during national emergencies
17 and public health crises, similar to the uni18
formed service reserve personnel;
19 ‘‘(C) be available for backfilling critical po20
sitions left vacant during deployment of active
21 duty Commissioned Corps members, as well as
22 for deployment to respond to public health emer23
gencies, both foreign and domestic; and
24 ‘‘(D) be available for service assignment in
25 isolated, hardship, and medically underserved
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1 communities (as defined in section 799B) to im2
prove access to health services.
3 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—For the purpose of carrying out the
4 duties and responsibilities of the Commissioned Corps
5 under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated
6 $5,000,000 (5 Billion???) for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for (Our military had 3.2 Billion as a budget!!!)
7 recruitment and training and $12,500,000 for each of fiscal (12 billion????)
8 years 2010 through 2014 for the Ready Reserve Corps.’’.
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Scott O, you can forget the pre-existing conditions for kids. Now it starts in 2014!!! Nancy and her henchmen FORGOT to put it in for immediate passage...........
HOW MANY LIES DOES IT TAKE FOR A LOON TO SMARTEN UP?
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Because Maine's AG is a Liberal we can't join the suit!
I called Monday and the phones were jammed with calls and the person told me it was steady and they were taking names and phone numbers.
Then I called Wednesday and they said they weren't going to join the suit! I asked her what it would TAKE for Janet Mills to join.
NO ANSWER to that questioned either.
I can't wait to get BaldArchies and the loons out of Maines offices!
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Not only are these lawsuits frivolous and their arguments are unconstitutional. Being forced to buy insurance has been tested in the courts before and found constitutional.
"....there would have been overwhelming bi-partisan support." No. The Republicans decided long before the health care debate in congress to destroy the Obama administration by every means at their disposal. Killing the Health Care bill was in their warped little minds the same as killing the administration. Well they lost in November and they lost in March.
They challenged the reconciliation bill last night and got two meaningless provisions removed requiring a new vote in the house. Smart move. Not really, because now the Senate can make any change they want in the reconciliation bill that is budget related. They can add a public option. They can extend Medicare to everyone. And only need 50 votes.
Please Republicans run on repealing health care for disabled children. Pretty Please. Or your motto - Don't get sick; if you do die quickly.
Even the unsavory deals were specific fixes for specific problems where more Federal dollars should have been available a long time ago or will help make sick people well. The worst in the bill is better than anything the Republicans proposed.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.“creative but not well-founded.”
They're trying to earn their Teabagger credentials.
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If you have a pre-existing condition, such as cancer, diabetes, etc. you are considered uninsurable. My daughter had cancer when younger and for her to get health insurance, she had to get a job with a big firm with group coverage. Even then she needed a waiting period before she could be covered for anything relating to her cancer. Having been around kids with cancer, I can fully understand this particular part of the bill. If single items like this had been voted on, one at a time, there would have been overwhelming bi-partisan support. The side deals and hidden agendas, changed this particular bill from something notable and worthy to an abomination, in my view. 2700 pages and on ever page you can find a rock in the roadway. If you remove that rock and look under it, a boulder can be found.
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I appreciate your reply, but I guess what I am trying to determine is now under the bill, you cannot be denied for a pre-existing condition. As with other products, i.e. car insurance, life insurance, if you are deemed to be a in a higer risk group, you can and will be charged substatially more. My question is, will the same rules apply to those with pre-existing conditions who seek insurance? or are there price caps in place?
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Can some one explain, and I'm only asking out of curiosity, the whole "no coverage denied for pre-existing coverage" portion of the bill. Will it be like purchasing life insurance? They didn't deny me, but I have high blood pressure (even though I exercise 4 times a week) and my premiums are high because of it. Will the same rule of thumb apply?
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We, in the State of Maine, do not support this kind of action. Sorry, Republicans, but if you want what the national Republicans want, you should move to one of those states.
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that rush said he was going to move to Costa Rica, although I really don't expect him live up to his word.
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I guess we will have to wait and see what he does when he gets sick
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Good for you..I agree 100%
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I somehow knew the liberal left would be out early on this article...glad I neded to go to work now and not read their comments.
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Paying for insurance you can not afford does not assure you will have access to services. In many states providers refuse to accept insurance, any plan, any carrier. Providers accept cash only. With these marginal individuals tying up all their health care dollars in federally mandated worthless insurance they will be even worse off because they will have no money left to pay cash for services. Obamacare garantees insurance companies new subscribers while doing nothing to garantee the subscribers get anything for their money.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.And you read the whole bill
And you read the whole bill and understand everything there is to know about it? When President Obama set out to revamp this system , he had first hand knowledge from his mother how these crooks in the insurance business work because of the difficulties she had with them. Insurance companies are all too happy to take your money, as long as they don't have to dish out too much on the care of an individual, but let them come down with something serious and they are ready to drop you like a hot potato!!
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Where are the Civil Liberties people on this issue? For sure when you command people to purchase something they don't necessarily want, you are taking away civil liberties. With car insurance, you can choose not to drive. This is different. Being conservative in my views. I wouldn't like to see a public option, but I really think it would have more legality within the constitution, than a mandate to purchase a product.
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Why would the blue Socialist state of Maine challenge government run health care? After all comrads Baldacci and Mills support even more Gov control health care, the peoples single payer option.
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Same tactic was tried after Social Secuirty and Medicare were passed and was crushed immediately by the courts. But doing common sense things that are good for Maine people hasn't been the forte of Maine Republicans for generations.
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Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid are UNIVERSAL entitlements, meaning, all who pay in have access. This bill is not universal. Of the many who pay in, only few have access. The majority who access it are not paying into the program. This is "affordable" healthcare. The government mandates all Americans purchase a good or service or face a penalty. That is just like SS and/or Medicare and Medicaid? I know well before hand that when I retire, if it is still there, and I do not take my monies accumulated in Social Security I will have to pay a fine to the federal government that will increase over time. That is the identical program we are arguing about! Sorry fellas I lost me train of thought there for a minute.
Still waiting for either SSDD, Tron or anyone to explain to me how we support a program, any program that is payed into for 10 years and provides only 6 years of benefits. Once again my automobile loan analogy; I purchase a vehicle and take a loan with a ten year term, however, I cannot take possession of, or drive my new vehicle until I have made four years of payments. At least in this scenario I know where my money is going. Can either of you or anyone for that matter, explain where our money is going for the next four years and how this exceptable practice? I pay 15% of my employer provided healthcare, State funded Dirigo Health and now Obamacare. Obama ran on hope and change. it should be "Change, That's all you'll have left, when Obama's done"
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Pursuing frivolous lawsuits as a campaign ploy. I thought republicans were suppose to be frugal with the public's money, I guess they must plan to pay back all the money they spend when they lose.
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Republicans want all your money, or any program that will make them rich...they don't care about the little people and never did...bottom line for them is the profits they can make off of a business..whether it be insurance companies, shipbuilding , oil , pharmacuticals,you name it...as long as they are getting rich, piss on the rest of us..
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