Senator Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield)
Senator Jane Cunningham and other supporters of Proposition C originally wanted it to be a constitutional amendment, but that effort ended in the Senate. “We had to compromise to get it through the Senate and through a filibuster. So, we did that and got it in statute.”
With the result of last August’s vote in mind, the Senator says it’s time to go for the original goal. “I think legislators in Missouri saw how popular it was so my guess is, they would not be so reluctant to put it in the Constitution now.”
Cunningham plans to introduce almost the exact language of Proposition C, with one addition. She says she thought the language of the bill would protect insurance providers and carriers, making them separate from federal mandates. “Right now they have some dictates that they have no choice of whether or not they put in their plans. They put those mandates in and that raises premiums and we’re all required to pay those increased premiums.” She wants to add a separation for not only medical providers, individuals and businesses who buy health insurance but also carriers.
The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to take up the health care act and consider the Constitutionality of its individual mandate. Senator Cunningham acknowledges, if the Court upholds the law Proposition C would be null and void, let alone any amendment to Missouri’s Constitution based on it.