PIERRE, S.D. - Attorney General Marty J. Jackley announces that the Federal Court has denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss the multi-state healthcare suit. The ruling will allow the State’s challenge to the individual mandate requiring all citizens to purchase qualifying healthcare insurance or face a penalty, and the coercion and commandeering with respect to the States’ Medicaid Program to move forward.
In reference to the individual mandate, the Federal Court stated: “at this stage of the litigation, this is not even a close call....the power that the individual mandates seeks to harness is simply without prior precedent.”
As to the Medicaid expansion, the Federal Court found support from the historic decision of South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203, 107 S. Ct. 2793 (1987), wherein the United Stated Supreme Court speculated that: “in some circumstances, the financial inducement offered by Congress might be so coercive as to pass the point at which ‘pressure turns into compulsion.”
“Improving healthcare is too important to build on an unconstitutional foundation through a process that failed to respect the rights of states and individuals,” stated Attorney General Marty Jackley. “Today’s Court ruling confirms the significance of this lawsuit to protect the rights of individuals and states when the federal government oversteps its authority.”
During the next stage of the proceedings, the States will be filing a motion for summary judgment seeking relief from both the individual mandate and the Medicaid expansion.
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