Rep. Calvin Hill pre-files the bill in the State House.
ATLANTA (Dec. 1, 2009) – Georgia State Sen. Judson Hill (R-Marietta) pre-filed legislation proposing to amend the Georgia Constitution to protect individuals' right to make their own health care choices. The legislation, dubbed the Health Care Freedom of Choice Constitutional Amendment, preserves the rights of individuals to pay directly for medical care—something not allowed in single-payer countries like Canada—and prohibits any individual from being penalized for not purchasing government-defined insurance. State Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton) has pre-filed the legislation in the State House.
"We have taken the first step in protecting Georgians from government-run health care and intrusive government mandates. If Congress' proposed government option mandate becomes law, then the federal government will become a significant decision maker in Georgians' medical care," said Sen. Hill. "This Constitutional Amendment will preserve Georgians' right to make their own health care and health insurance choices. I want to thank Representative Hill for carrying this important legislation in the Georgia House."
"The time has come for us, as citizens and Georgia as a sovereign state, to stand up to the federal government and stop these mandates that trample individual rights. The 10th amendment specifically states, ‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.' We, as elected representatives must do what we can to ensure these basic rights for the citizens of Georgia," said Georgia Rep. Hill.
The Health Care Freedom of Choice Constitutional Amendment was modeled after the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act, which protects the individual rights of patients to obtain the health insurance of their choosing and to pay directly for medical care. Georgia joins the ranks of legislators from 14 other states (AL, AZ, FL, IN, MI, MN, ND, NM, OH, PA, SC, WV, WY) who have already filed or pre-filed similar legislation. Legislators in 10 other states (AK, KS, LA, MO, MS, NH, OK, MT, TN, UT) have publicly announced their intention to file the legislation. The legislation has passed in Arizona earlier this year.
Since Sen. Hill announced his intent to file this legislation on Sept. 3, he has published several opinion pieces on health care reform advocating the preservation of seniors' health care choices, offering conservative free-market based health care solutions, and championing the initiative to slow down Congress' massive health care bill so that patient-centered reforms can be addressed. Sen. Hill has also begun an on-line petition initiative requesting that the U.S. Senate filibuster the Democrats' health care reform package. For more information on Sen. Hill's initiatives, go to www.judsonhill.com or www.healthcarefilibuster.com. For more information on Rep. Hill's initiatives, go to http://www.calvinhill.org/.
