North Dakota House Rejects Constitutional Amendment Seeking To Ensure Residents’ Rights to Private Health Coverage
The North Dakota House on Wednesday voted 77-16 to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment (HCR 3010) sponsored by state Rep. Jim Kasper (R) that sought to ensure that state residents could purchase private health insurance in the event of a federal single-payer, universal health care system, the AP/USA Today reports.
According to the AP/USA Today, some countries that have state-controlled health care systems restrict residents from purchasing private medical insurance. For example, several Canadian provinces do not allow private insurance coverage for medically necessary hospital or physician services. Kasper said he proposed the amendment out of concern that health universal health care legislation would impose similar restrictions that would affect state health reform plans.
The measure sought to prohibit the Legislature from approving any law "that restricts an individual's freedom of choice of private health care systems or private plans of any type ... (or) a law that interferes with a person's right to pay directly for lawful medical services."
Rep. Jasper Schneider (D) said the amendment was unnecessary because a federal universal health care plan likely would override any state constitutional restrictions. He added that it was unlikely that North Dakota would approve a universal health care plan before the federal government (Wetzel, AP/USA Today, 3/5).
