An auction house says it has decided not to sell a vial that it says contains blood residue from Ronald Reagan.WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., has asked Indiana’s attorney general whether the Senate’s health insurance legislation passes constitutional muster.
Lugar, who voted against the bill last month, asked state Attorney General Greg Zoeller to offer his opinion on whether it’s constitutional to fine people if they don’t buy health insurance.
Republican senators said the requirement to buy insurance violates the Constitution’s ban on taking private property for public purpose without proper compensation.
Republicans also said a provision of the bill could treat insurance companies differently from each other, which would violate the 14th Amendment’s “equal protection” clause. Nebraska – but not other states – would receive additional federal money for the expansion of its Medicaid program. Other states would have to pay for the Medicaid additions.
In a statement he issued Wednesday, Zoeller quoted an analysis by the state’s actuary that said the provision would cost Indiana an additional $2.4 billion over 10 years.
Republican senators raised those objections during debate on the bill, but amendments were voted down along party lines.
In a letter to Zoeller he sent Tuesday, Lugar said that because the votes on the constitutional questions came only five days after the bill’s content was made public, there wasn’t enough time to study the issues.
Indiana law allows the attorney general to make “any reasonable or appropriate investigation or study” of federal legislation when asked to do so by a member of the congressional delegation.
Zoeller said his evaluation of the legislation’s legality will be objective and that he would complete it before the House and Senate begin work on resolving the differences between the health insurance overhaul legislation that each passed.
