Jefferson City, MO – A lawsuit has been filed in Jefferson City that's designed to stop the August 3rd referendum on Missouri's participation in the new national health care law. The referendum was approved by the Missouri House and Senate this year, and it states that citizens cannot be forced to buy health insurance against their will.
"I would expect our opponents to try to use the courts to thwart the will of the people," says Republic Jane Cunningham of Chesterfield, who sponsored the bill in the Senate. "People feel very strongly that they want to voice their own viewpoint. They felt that their voices were ignored by Washington."
The plaintiffs, a woman from St. Louis and a woman from Morrison, argue that the bill is unconstitutional because it also addresses rules to allow insurance companies to dissolve, which they say violates the single-subject matter rule.
A hearing for the suit has not been scheduled yet.
St. Louis Public Radio contacted attorney Chip Gentry, who filed the suit, but he has not responded to our request for an interview.