Legislative Staff Release

Published: 13-Dec-2010

State Rep. Mike Ritze, one of only two medically trained members of the Oklahoma Legislature, praised a court ruling today (Monday, December 13) that declared a provision of the federal health care law unconstitutional.

“I am elated that the court’s ruling is in agreement with what I and other critics have argued all along – that the new federal health care law clearly violates the U.S. Constitution,” said Ritze, a Broken Arrow Republican. “The federal law represents a radical change towards socialized medicine that will ultimately reduce Oklahomans’ access to quality care, particularly in rural areas.”

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled today that the government cannot require people to buy insurance, declaring that provision of the new federal health care law to be unconstitutional. The case is expected to be appealed and eventually go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ritze was a primary House author of legislation that allowed Oklahomans to vote to opt out of the federal health care overhaul. The constitutional amendment submitted through State Question 756 was approved by a margin of nearly two-to-one in November.

Under the state constitutional amendment, no law or rule can compel any person, employer or health care provider to participate in any health care system. It also states that Oklahomans will not be financially penalized if they choose not to purchase insurance mandated by the federal health care plan and that doctors shall still be allowed to accept direct payment for services without fear of financial penalty.

“The citizens of Oklahoma have chosen to opt-out of ObamaCare and not be subjected to federal fines, higher taxes and prison sentences,” Ritze said. “That was the first step of the ‘3 R’s’ – to Resist, Reject and Repeal ObamaCare. Today’s court ruling moves us another step closer to repeal.”

Ritze is a board-certified family practice physician and surgeon.