AG Rob McKenna points out flaws in health care mandate

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna says there are details in the health care mandate. (AP Photo)

While Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna said
he’s disappointed the Supreme Court decided to uphold the
health care mandate, he doesn’t agree with Mitt Romney in
that the whole plan should be dismissed.

“Repealing the entire thing would mean you would be
repealing parts that everyone seems to like, for example,
no life time caps and covering people with pre-existing
conditions. It would be more sensible to repeal those
provisions that are particularly objectionable.”

McKenna had challenged the law’s individual mandate as a
violation of the Constitution, and he says he still has
concerns about whether there are limits to how Congress
could force people to take action by punishing them with
a penalty.

“That’s one of the sources of heartburn with that law.
Congress punts a lot of that decision making to regulators
and bureaucrats at the Department of Health and Human
Services.”

While the dollar amount of the penalty isn’t clear yet,
McKenna is convinced the federal government is going to
try to force Americans into buying the most expensive
insurance they can think of because they want young and
healthy people to come into the market and subsidize
everyone else.

But what’s stopping people from just paying the cheaper
penalty and then buying insurance when or if they get
something like cancer?

“There certainly will be some people who will just pay the
penalty because it’s a lot less money than the insurance
that they’d be forced to buy. That’s why it’s wrong that
Congress is going to allow the Department of Health and
Human Services to dictate what kind of insurance you have
to buy. Because you know they’re going to make you buy the
most expensive type.”

McKenna joined other GOP
attorneys general in the lawsuit over the objections of
Gov. Chris Gregoire. He said the state will move ahead
with implementing the law and the development of insurance
exchanges.

Meanwhile, McKenna wants lawmakers to focus on identifying
changes to some aspect of the measure while keeping those
that are popular. The attorney general believes that the
law exacerbates health care inflation while driving up
demand for Medicaid, while driving down supply through
changes in Medicaid reimbursement.

McKenna did claim a small victory, saying he was glad the
court did not allow the mandate under the commerce clause
because that would have dramatically expanded the power of
Congress to regulate what people can do.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more:
Washington officials vow better health care coverage
Read the Supreme Court Decision here