Kinder Joins Fellow Gubernatorial Candidate in Partisan Lawsuit to Block Health Care Reform
Lt. Governor Peter Kinder wants in on the fun, and today announced his intention to join Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and a handful of other Attorneys General in a lawsuit seeking to declare federal health care legislation unconstitutional.
Kinder read a brief statement on the Capitol steps, and then quickly retreated to his office without answering questions at the press conference he'd called. His Chief of Staff, Rich AuBuchon, stayed behind to answer a few questions, and stated he might serve as Kinder's lawyer in the suit.
Coincidentally, McCollum is also running for governor.
Kinder says it's important for him to use taxpayer money for the lawsuit so that Missouri doesn't have to pay for expanded Medicaid coverage in the future. "If you were to spend a few thousand dollars to save hundreds of millions of dollars, that's a good bargain," Kinder said.
A copy of McCollum's complaint is here. A few articles about the alleged unconstitutionality of the federal law:
- Los Angeles Times: "It's on! 13 state attorneys general challenge healthcare reform law"
- Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine School of Law: "The constitutionality of healthcare; There's nothing illegal about requiring Americans to buy medical insurance."
- Slate: "Can Obama Make You Buy Health Insurance?"
- New England Journal of Medicine: "The Constitutionality of the Individual Mandate for Health Insurance"
- Politico: "McCollum's lawsuit"
