Virginia First State in the Nation to Pass Ban on Mandated Health Care Insurance

While Congress is caught up in a tumultuous debate over whether or not to undertake sweeping reform that would make it illegal to be without health insurance, Virginia this week made its stance on government health care mandates crystal clear: NO! The answer came in the form of HB 10, introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, and mirroring SB 417, patroned by Senator Jill Vogel, R- Upperville, which would block any government mandate that would require Virginia residents to have health insurance. Both received overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate bill passed into law, while the House version is headed to Governor McDonnell's desk for his signature.

Virginia is the first state in the nation to pass any type of ban on mandated coverage, but more than thirty other states are following our lead with similar legislation pending.

These votes send a clear message to local Congressmen Boucher, D-9th, Nye, D-2nd, and Perriello, D-5th who are standing by to support Obama's healthcare legislation: the people back home in your district don't want Washington bureaucrats in charge of their health care. They also don't want the Commonwealth on the hook for one of the largest unfunded mandates in history.

(From Pat Mullins March 12th, Chairman's Update)

Marshall Fights Obama Care Insurance Mandates

Congress has NEVER, in 220 years, mandated that individuals purchase any private service or good, until now.

Both the House and Senate health insurance “reform” bills approved by Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner threaten our families with jail time and fines up to $25,000 if we do not purchase health insurance that Obama Health Czars think is good for us whether we want it or not.

For example, both Mark Warner and Jim Webb voted to coerce you into paying for elective abortions. Penalties, including jail for a year if you refuse to pay, start for a single month without health coverage.

“Health care reform” bills which Congress’ own staff call novel, unprecedented, and of suspicious constitutional foundation are not solutions to problems.

Rather, the bills threaten our liberties and economic welfare because they steal the primary responsibility for economic welfare from families and adult individuals and turn it over to Washington politicians and their bureaucracies.

Something is very wrong with this. We all know it. And we can stop it.

My HB 10 is a direct challenge to Obama Care mandates and affirms that no person, church, business or other entity can be punished for failure to purchase a particular plan of health insurance. The purpose of HB 10 is to empower the state of Virginia and Virginia citizens to challenge the health insurance mandate provisions of the federal insurance bills.

HB 10 (see Q and A below) will get around the ideological road blocks from out of touch Congressmen and Senators because states and grass roots citizens still are the foundation of our Constitutional balance of power.

HB 10 has received support from conservatives, Republican activists, Right to Lifers, Tea Party members, Libertarians, Ron Paul supporters, and small businessmen.

Please contact your Virginia legislators (delegates and especially state senators) and urge them to co-patron HB 10.

Please let your friends know about the hope offered by HB 10. Anyone who needs to find their representative in the Virginia House of Delegates and/or the Virginia state Senate should go to: http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall,
13th district, Virginia House of Delegates, elected 1991 to present;
Contact: cell 703-853-4213, http://www.delegatebob.com/

P.S. I prepared a PDF Q & A download on State Authority to challenge Obama Care mandates at my website athttp://action.delegatebob.com/lt.php?id=ekQFUgsFD1BVSAcGSQsEUQ%3D%3D.