Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined Democratic colleagues from other states today in filing a “friend of the court” brief supporting President Obama’s health-reform program.
About 10 attorneys general signed onto the brief, which was to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is considering a lawsuit filed by Republican leaders in 26 states, including Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who contend the health-reform law is unconstitutional. Those opponents’ contentions include that Congress had no authority to require most Americans to buy health insurance starting in 2014.
Miller explained today why he disagrees. Health care accounts for more than one-sixth of the nation’s economy, he said. “If anything is in interstate commerce, it’s health care,” he said in a conference call with reporters. “And that gives, I think, the Congress, consistent with court decisions, authority to enact a comprehensive resolution.” To make the system work, he said, such a resolution should include requirements that people have coverage.
Oregon Attorney General John Kroger noted that uninsured people’s health-care costs often get shifted to other Americans. Kroger noted that some opponents of the health-reform law have suggested it impinges on people’s freedom. “I would simply say there’s no freedom to freeload,” he said. “There’s not a constitutional right to shift your own health-care costs onto someone else.”
Miller’s support of the law contrasts with the stance of Branstad. The governor has said he joined the lawsuit because he believes the health-reform law will impose unsustainable, unconstitutional costs on states and individuals.
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