Senator Harris Blak
Senate District 22
Senate Update
2010 Legislative Session
June 17, 2010
As part of the federal health care law passed earlier this year, the federal government set aside $5 billion to give out to states that set up temporary high-risk insurance pools by July 1. North Carolina already maintains a high risk insurance pool at the state level. In April, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told states they had until the end of the month to decide whether they would create a new a federal high-risk pool, operate a federal pool alongside an existing state pool, or opt out of the program altogether. In response, 18 governors across the country decided to opt out choosing to do without federal money to set up a federal high-risk pool because of concerns that these pools represent another unfunded federal mandate that could strain state budgets and leave taxpayers to foot the bill for future deficits from the program. Governor Bev Perdue has sent a letter to Health and Human Services announcing North Carolina’s intention to participate in the program by setting up a federal high-risk pool to run in conjunction with the state pool. Industry analysts have predicted the federal program could cost as much as eight times as much as what has been budgeted to cover the costs that will be incurred by the states.
In addition, last month Attorney General Roy Cooper refused to join a lawsuit with thirteen other Attorneys General across the country challenging the constitutionality of the federal health care mandates handed down to the states as part of the new law. Cooper justified his decision by claiming that joining such a suit was an unnecessary drain on state resources because any decision rendered by the Supreme Court in the case would be applied to North Carolina regardless of the state’s participation in the suit. However, last week Cooper rightly chose to join a suit scheduled to go before the Supreme Court and initiated by other states against a Topeka, Kansas church whose members picket military funerals. Cooper made no statement in regards to his previous concerns that such a suit could drain state resources fueling speculation that his refusal to join the lawsuit challenging federal health care mandates was a result of his political allegiance to the Obama administration, not a response to the will of the majority of the people of North Carolina.
Senator Harris Blake
Raleigh Office: (919)733-4809
Pinehurst Office: (910)295-3613
harrisblake.com