WASHINGTON (AP) -- Missouri
voters' overwhelming opposition to requiring nearly
all Americans to buy health insurance puts one of
the least popular parts of President Barack Obama's
health care overhaul law back in the political
crosshairs.
Even if the vote sets no
legally binding precedent, it will help mobilize
foes of Obama's agenda in the fall midterm
elections, and that could make a difference in some
states with close congressional races that could
decide the balance of power in Washington.
On Tuesday, Missouri voters
cast 71 percent of their ballots in favor of a state
measure to bar the government from requiring people
to carry health insurance, and penalizing those who
don't.
That approach is at the heart
of the federal health care law that Obama signed in
March. Starting in 2014, Americans would be required
to carry coverage, with exceptions for financial
hardship. Government would help pay premiums for
millions, but those who still refuse to sign up
would face a tax.
There's little chance that
Missouri can wall itself off from the insurance
requirement, since federal law usually supersedes
state law. But sponsors of the measure were looking
to send another kind of message.
"The Missouri vote is
significant politically because it will help rally
people who oppose the Obama administration to go to
the polls in the fall elections," said Robert
Blendon, a Harvard public health school professor
who tracks opinion trends on health care. "It shows
the debate is still alive, and that's what the
sponsors wanted to do. They wanted to reintroduce
the idea that there is still a debate going on."
At least two other states -
Arizona and Oklahoma - have similar measures on the
ballot in November. And sponsors of Florida's
version are appealing to reinstate it after a state
judge struck the measure from the ballot, ruling
that a summary for voters was misleading.
In Colorado, supporters
submitted 130,000 voter signatures to the state last
week for a ballot measure challenging the insurance
mandate, about 50,000 more names than are required.
Arizona, Colorado and Florida
are states with House and Senate races rated as
toss-ups in November. A few years ago, state ballot
measures against same-sex marriage helped turn
conservatives out in the contest between incumbent
President George W. Bush and Massachusetts
Democratic Sen. John Kerry. Bush won.
Foes of the health care law
also seek to overturn the insurance requirement in
federal court.
Twenty states have joined one
of the cases, pending in Florida. This week, a
federal judge rejected the Obama administration's
request to dismiss Virginia's lawsuit, allowing the
case to proceed to formal arguments.
Opponents of the mandate argue
that the federal government overstepped its
constitutional authority by requiring individuals to
purchase a particular product, especially one that
costs as much as health insurance.
The administration says the
requirement is well within the government's
authority to regulate interstate commerce, and
penalties for those who don't comply stem from the
power of Congress to levy taxes. The obligation in
the new health care law was originally a Republican
idea, dating back to the 1990s. Mitt Romney signed
such a requirement into law at the state level as
Massachusetts governor in 2006.
An individual decision not to
carry insurance affects society because others have
to pay when that person gets sick and seeks
treatment, supporters also argue. Reforms in the law
- such as requiring insurers to accept people with
medical problems - won't work if individuals are
allowed to postpone getting coverage until they need
it.
Democrats sought to play down
the significance of the Missouri vote.
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen,
who's coordinating the Democrats' strategy for
hanging on to the House, pointed out that the
turnout in Missouri was low - less than 25 percent
and overwhelmingly Republican, given a number GOP
primaries up for grabs.
"That doesn't tell you what
people's view of health reform is," Van Hollen said.
"The numbers are totally distorted because of the
lopsided turnout."
Missouri Democratic Sen.
Claire McCaskill, who backed the health care law,
said the results reflect the fact that voters have
been bombarded with anti-government criticism of the
new law and aren't fully aware of its positive
aspects.
"'Big government, bad
government, don't trust 'em' is a pretty simple
message," said McCaskill.
Missouri voters interviewed at
the polls expressed a general frustration about the
government telling them what to do.
"This is a free country and
government needs to stop," said Cassandra Bosch, 34,
a stay-at-home mom from Jefferson City. "You don't
have to come into my home and tell me repeatedly
what to do."
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Associated Press writer Julie
Hirschfeld Davis contributed to this report. Lieb
reported from Jefferson City, Mo.