Alaska state Rep. Mike Kelly seeks health care constitutional amendment

Rep. Mike Kelly said Alaska's residents deserve 'health care free choice,' and he wants to amend the state constitution to give it to them.

The Fairbanks Republican announced Tuesday that he will introduce a resolution to place an amendment before voters in the 2010 general election. It would 'prohibit passage of laws that compel any person or employer to participate in a particular health care system.'

Kelly said his motivation is to avoid forced participation in a government-run health insurance system. The current draft of his resolution, which he plans to introduce when the legislative session begins in January, would also prohibit laws that penalize a person, employer or health-care provider for declining to participate in a health-care system.

Kelly said he's concerned by federal involvement in health care issues and sees the amendment as a way to push back and assert Alaska's rights. He said a close look at other universal federal programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, should make the public wary of public-run health insurance.

'These areas where government is involved are not putting in a good performance record,' he said.

None of the health-care proposals being considered in Congress includes a mandate to purchase public health insurance, although some do impose fines on people who remain uninsured altogether. Under those proposals, patients would be required to be insured by either a private or public insurance carrier.

Legislatures in about a dozen other states are also considering state constitutional amendments to prohibit federal health-care mandates. In Arizona, an amendment is set to appear before voters on the ballot in 2010.

Amending the Alaska Constitution isn't easy. It requires a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate, followed by approval from a majority of voters. Kelly said the fight would be 'tough, but achievable.'

Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, and Rep. Wes Keller, R-Wasilla, had signed on as prime co-sponsors of the resolution as of Wednesday, House Majority spokesman Will Vandergriff said.

If approved, the amendment would probably invite federal court challenges, Kelly said, but he said it's a worthy fight.

'It is definitely something that's going to cause friction with the federal government, but their appetite for trampling state rights seems unlimited lately,' Kelly said.

It isn't the first time Kelly has emphasized state independence from the federal government. Last year he introduced a resolution that declared Alaska's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. It ultimately was approved by the Legislature and was signed by Gov. Sarah Palin.

Kelly's proposal would have to be approved by at least a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the Legislature in order to be placed on the ballot at the next general election. A simple majority vote of the public would then be needed for passage.

Kelly serves on the board of trustees of the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Foundation.

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