The Boston Globe reports that attorneys general from 13 states said yesterday they are prepared to sue unless congressional leaders remove an amendment from the federal health care legislation that exempts Nebraska from requirements to expand Medicaid coverage.
The 13 Republican AGs say the amendment, dubbed the “Nebraska compromise,” unconstitutionally carves out an exception for the state from the sweeping health care reform bill passed in the Senate last week that they estimate will lose the federal government $100 million in the next 10 years. The provision, which its opponents say was implemented to win congressional leaders the 60 votes necessary to block a Republican-led filibuster, also extended federal Medicaid assistance to five other states. Democratic lawmakers called the threatened suit a political ploy, and noted that the exemptions are nothing more than the sort of compromise routinely made to get legislation passed.
For full story, see: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/12/31/13_state_ags_threaten_suit_over_health_care_deal/
Columbushttp://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2009/12/31/copy/Health_care_1231.ART_ART_12-31-09_A3_PMG5ISA.html?adsec=politics&sid=101 Dispatch:
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/12/30/us/AP-US-Health-Care-Deal-States.html
USAhttp://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-30-health-ags_N.htm Today:
For background on the controversy, see Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/12/19/cornhusker-harvest-nebraska-gains-in-nelson-compromise/
