It is clear that Missourians not only oppose the new federal health care law, but also the individual insurance mandate in the new law that would force individuals to purchase health insurance, or face fines and penalties.  Equally troubling for Missourians are the nearly weekly updates from the Congressional Budget Office that show that, instead of reducing the federal deficits, ObamaCare will cost an additional 800 billion dollars over the next ten years.  Because of these concerns, a Rasmussen poll released this week showed that a clear majority of Missourians still want the new federal bill repealed.  Even though this opposition was made clear in town halls and tea parties, Congress passed the bill against the objections of Americans.

In an effort to protect Missourians from this dangerous encroachment on our freedoms, a bipartisan super majority of state legislators supported the Health Care Freedom Act during the 2010 legislative session.  The Act contains two major provisions: protections for Missourians from being forced to purchase health insurance and a prohibition against government fines and penalties for refusing to purchase insurance.  This legislation was crafted because Missourians are far more capable of making their own health care decisions than Washington politicians and bureaucrats.

The authority of the federal government to pass legislation that requires the purchase of a private product is highly questionable.  While the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution has been used to justify federal regulation of private enterprise, never before in our nation’s history has “inactivity” been regulated.  That is, while the active participation in commerce and private enterprise has been regulated by the federal government for years, individuals have never been forced to participate “in” commerce, as the federal health care law would require.  This expanded power creates a dangerous precedent for government overreach, and has the potential to dramatically expand the size and scope of government.

Should Missourians pass the Health Care Freedom Act, we would retain the power and freedom to determine our own health care and send a message to the federal government that we have had it with their overreaching and their mandates.  If you, like me, have had it with an out of control, out of touch federal government, I encourage you to vote ‘yes’ on Proposition C on August 3.

Representative Tim Jones represents Missouris’ 89th District in the Missouri House of Representatives, which includes parts of St. Louis County.  You can learn more about Representative Jones by visiting his website at http://www.timwjones.com/.

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