Bill Text: MO HCR41 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares the General Assembly's strong opposition to the newest regulation under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which is contrary to the laws of Missouri
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-02-23 - Reported to The Senate (S) [HCR41 Detail]
Download: Missouri-2012-HCR41-Introduced.html
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
House Concurrent Resolution No. 41
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES CURTMAN (Sponsor), SMITH (150), COX, RICHARDSON, DIEHL, JONES (89), DAVIS, KOENIG AND FREDERICK (Co-sponsors).
WHEREAS, under Section 2713 of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 health insurers must cover "preventive services" for women without charging a co-pay beginning August 1, 2012; and
WHEREAS, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defined these preventive services to include "all FDA-approved forms of contraception, sterilization procedures and patient education and counseling"; and
WHEREAS, regulations announced last year (Interim Final Rule 76 FR 46621, August 3, 2011) provided an exemption for certain religious employers regarding contraception. At that time, it was unclear if the religious exemption applied to entities operated by religious organizations that employed or served people from a variety of faiths or had no religious affiliation at all; and
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2012, Secretary Sebelius said this mandate would take effect in August for most employers. Churches would be exempted from the rule, but not religious affiliated hospitals, colleges, or charities, though they would be given an extra year to comply; and
WHEREAS, Obama administration officials said that 28 states, including California and New York, already have similar rules for health insurance; and
WHEREAS, on Friday, February 10, 2012, President Obama announced a compromise that would exempt churches, other houses of worship, and similar organizations from covering contraception on the basis of their religious objections, and would provide a one-year transition period for religious organizations while this policy is being implemented; and
WHEREAS, the Obama administration also announced that sometime in the upcoming year it will propose and finalize a new regulation to address the religious objections of the non-exempted religious organizations. The new regulation will require insurance companies to cover contraception if the non-exempted religious organization chooses not to. Under the compromise:
(1) Religious organizations would not have to provide contraception coverage or refer their employees to organizations that provide contraception;
(2) Religious organizations would not be required to subsidize the cost of contraception;
(3) Contraception coverage would be offered to women by their employers' insurance companies directly, with no role for religious employers who oppose contraception;
(4) Insurance companies would be required to provide contraception coverage to these women free of charge; and
WHEREAS, the Missouri General Assembly has a solemn duty and obligation to uphold the laws of the State of Missouri, and to take all steps necessary and legal to stop any infringement upon the protected rights of Missouri citizens; and
WHEREAS, the people of the State of Missouri adopted Section 1.330, RSMo, by referendum, Proposition C, on August 3, 2010, which states in part:
"1.330. 1. No law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system."; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 1.330:
(1) No employee, self-employed person, or any other person should be compelled to obtain coverage for, or be discriminated against or penalized for declining or refusing coverage for, abortion, contraception, or sterilization in a health plan if such items or procedures are contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of such employee or person; and
(2) No employer, health plan provider, health plan sponsor, health care provider, or any other entity should be compelled to provide coverage for, or be discriminated against or penalized for declining or refusing coverage for, abortion, contraception, or sterilization in a health plan if such items or procedures are contrary to the religious beliefs or moral convictions of such employer, health plan provider, health plan sponsor, health care provider, or entity; and
(3) No governmental entity, public official, or entity acting in a governmental capacity should be permitted to discriminate against or penalize a health plan, plan sponsor, health care provider, employer, employee, or other entity or person because of such plan's, sponsor's, provider's, employer's, employee's, entity's, or person's unwillingness, based on religious beliefs or moral convictions, to provide or obtain coverage for, participate in, or refer for, abortion, contraception, or sterilization in a health plan; and
WHEREAS, the most recent regulation under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will require religious hospitals and institutions to choose between offering insurance coverage to their employees which provide birth control, sterilization procedures, and abortifacients, such as the "morning after pill", services which are contrary to the religious tenets and beliefs of the Catholic Church, other churches, and religious organizations who operate such hospitals and institutions, or decide not to provide health insurance coverage to their employees and pay the penalty imposed under PPACA; and
WHEREAS, the compromise announced by President Barack Obama on February 10, 2012, does not resolve the issue for the Catholic Church, other churches, and many religious organizations because it failed to address several important issues, such as self insurers, conscience objections of individuals, and states' rights; and
WHEREAS, in many religious hospitals and institutions, the Catholic Church, other churches, or religious organizations are self insured, which once again forces them to make an unnecessary choice in violation of their religious liberties; and
WHEREAS, even if the Catholic Church, other churches, or religious organizations do not self insure, the transfer of responsibility to the insurer of providing these services free of charge under the announced compromise will likely be passed on to employers in the form of higher premiums to cover the cost to the insurer, which forces these churches and institutions to indirectly pay for these mandates through their premiums in violation of their religious liberties; and
WHEREAS, religious liberty is a fundamental principle in our nation and state that must be protected. The intrusion of the federal government into our health care choices by creating a health care mandate which forces not only the Catholic Church, other churches, and religious organizations, but also any person with deeply held religious beliefs to violate their conscience or be subject to a penalty is unacceptable in a free society; and
WHEREAS, under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the State of Missouri and every other state in the nation has the right to enact laws which prohibit the infringement of the federal government into the lives and affairs of its citizens in areas which are not expressly provided to the federal government under the United States Constitution; and
WHEREAS, Missouri has enacted legislation which directly contradicts the mandates contained in the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010; and
WHEREAS, the Missouri General Assembly takes a firm and unwavering stand against an unconstitutional infringement on the right of the State of Missouri and its citizens not to be forced to participate in any health care system which is contrary to the laws of the State of Missouri:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of Representatives of the Ninety-sixth General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the Senate concurring therein, hereby declare the firm and unwavering stand of the Missouri General Assembly to strongly oppose the federal health care mandates contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, including the most recent regulation requiring the provision of preventive services, as an infringement of the rights of the State of Missouri and a violation of state law; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Missouri General Assembly strongly affirms the right of each state under the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution to enact laws which prohibit the unconstitutional infringement of the federal government into the lives and affairs of the states in areas which are not expressly provided to the federal government; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Missouri General Assembly strongly urges and encourages the members of the Missouri Congressional delegation to write letters to Secretary Sebelius to express opposition to this new regulation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of Representatives be instructed to prepare properly inscribed copies of this resolution for Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and each member of the Missouri Congressional delegation.
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