Governor of Idaho signs sweeping new order banning Obamacare

Saturday, May 21, 2011 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: Obamacare, Idaho, health news

(NaturalNews) In another blow to the federal healthcare "reform" monstrosity known as "Obamacare," Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, a Republican, has signed an order banning portions of law.

State Republicans had already passed a so-called "nullification" bill, which Otter said would have been too restrictive in terms of offering state residents better choices, and opted instead to sign an executive order that he said would negate that issue.

"The (Republican) bill went further than what the authors intended it to do," Otter said. "It basically said you couldn't plan anything that looks like 'Obamacare.'"

In a letter to state Attorney General Lawrence G. Wasden, Otter said the legislation "can impose regulations and requirements that discourage or make it impossible for insurers to offer affordable health coverage to individuals and small employers in Idaho."

The Idaho governor's order is the latest in a list of legislative actions taken by states against the measure. As of this writing, 28 states are plaintiffs in lawsuits aimed at stopping the implementation of Obamacare on some level.

Federal courts have ruled both ways on it, but one of the most recent rulings, by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson in Florida said the law was unconstitutional, saying no American should be forced into buying health insurance.

"I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the act with the individual mandate," Vinson wrote. "That is not to say, of course, that Congress is without power to address the problems and inequities in our health care system. The health care market is more than one-sixth of the national economy, and without doubt Congress has the power to reform and regulate this market. That has not been disputed in this case."

"While the individual mandate was clearly 'necessary and essential' to the act as drafted, it is not 'necessary and essential' to health care reform in general," he continued. "Because the individual mandate is unconstitutional, the entire act must be voided."

If anything Obamacare perpetuates corporate health care and Big Pharma, which both work in collusion to keep a "medical consumer" mentality within the industry. That forces most people to remain hooked on a system that does not promote healthier lifestyles which would, in turn, require less dependence on the healthcare industry in the first place.

Whether the issue is the "must-buy-insurance" mandate, the top-heavy and expensive new rules and regulations or the law's reliance on a failed system, Obamacare is an abomination. So, any setback the law suffers is a good thing.