Eleven Attorneys General wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services accusing it of illegal executive actions.
The seven-page letter, marked Dec. 26, pointed specifically to President Obama’s healthcare “fix” which he announced in November:
The fix is flatly illegal under federal constitutional and statutory law. We support allowing citizens to keep their health insurance coverage, but the only way to fix this problem-ridden law is to enact changes lawfully: through congressional action.
The United States Constitution’s Take Care Clause found in Article II, Section 3 states the President "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
Not only did Obama disregard the faithful execution of his signature legislation, but he ignored the Constitution by not getting the permission of both houses of Congress before putting into place a new rule, according to the Attorneys General.
More broadly, we are deeply concerned that this Administration is consistently rewriting new rules and effectively inventing statutory provisions to operationalize a flawed law. And the irony, of course, is that the changes being put forth to fix the disastrous exchanges will ultimately destroy the market and increase health insurance premiums for consumers who played by the rules.
The undersigned Attorneys General support allowing citizens to keep their health insurance coverage. However, the only way to fix this problem-ridden law is to enact changes lawfully: through congressional action. The illegal actions by this Administration must stop.
Ken Cuccinelli of Virgina, Greg Abbott of Texas, Buddy Caldwell of Louisiana and Patrick Morrisey West Virginia were among those to sign the letter.