This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 28, 2012 - A Cole County judge has tossed out Secretary of State Robin Carnahan’s ballot summary for a proposal to bar the creation of a state-created health insurance exchange unless voters or the General Assembly approve it.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Republican legislative leaders had challenged Carnahan’s wording, claiming that it was biased and intended to influence voters to oppose the proposal. Carnahan disagreed.
Her office’s summary states: "Shall Missouri law be amended to deny individuals, families and small businesses the ability to access affordable health care plans through a state-based health benefit exchange unless authorized by statute, initiative or referendum or through an exchange operated by the federal government as required by the federal health care act?"
Judge Daniel Green agreed with Kinder and his allies. The replacement wording states: “Shall Missouri law be amended to prohibit the governor or any state agency, from establishing or operating state-based health insurance exchanges unless authorized by a vote of the people or by the legislature?”
Green’s approved wording is among four proposed alternatives that had been submitted by Kinder and his allies.
Carnahan has 10 days to appeal Green’s order to the Missouri Supreme Court.
In a statement, Carnahan said, "We are disappointed by today’s ruling. The secretary of state's office has a legal obligation to provide Missourians with fair and sufficient summaries of ballot measures. We still believe our summary meets that legal standard. The court’s summary would provide Missouri voters with less information about the impact of the proposal and how Missouri individuals, families and small businesses can access affordable health care."
"Our office is reviewing the decision to consider our next steps," she added.
Meanwhile, Kinder called Green’s ruling an “enormous victory for Missouri voters.”
“It is imperative that voters have a clear and impartial summary on this crucial ballot issue that affects our health-care rights and taxpayer dollars,” Kinder said. “Judge Green’s ruling substantiates our claim that Secretary Carnahan’s ballot summary does not pass the laugh test. The swiftness by which the judge issued his order gives proof to the clear bias in Carnahan’s summary.”
The other plaintiffs in the case include Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter; Senate Majority Floor Leader Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles; former House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perryville; and state House Speaker-elect Tim Jones, R-Eureka.
Backers acknowledge that the ballot proposal is aimed at blocking Gov. Jay Nixon or his administration from taking the steps needed to set up a state-sponsored health insurance exchange, where Missourians not in group plans could find individual policies cheaper than on the open market.
If the state does not set up an exchange by 2013, the federal government -- if President Barack Obama remains in office -- plans to set up one for Missourians. Backers of the ballot measure contend that its passage would prevent the Obama administration from doing so.
