Attorneys General In 11 States: President’s Obamacare Actions ‘Flatly Illegal’

by Sam Rolley 
Following the disastrous rollout of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare overhaul and subsequent public discontent over high prices and the loss of existing healthcare plans the President said would be unaffected, the White House has repeatedly tweaked “law of the land” Obamacare to assuage criticism. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 11 U.S. attorneys general contend that the Administration’s actions are “flatly illegal under federal constitutional and statutory law.”
The Republican attorneys general contend that the President should have to go through Congress in order to tweak the law. The group specifically criticized Obama’s use of executive action to allow insurance providers to reinstate health plans deemed insufficient by Obamacare standards and canceled in an attempt to ease criticism from the millions of Americans who liked their plans and couldn’t keep them.

“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 attorneys general said in the letter. “The illegal actions by this administration must stop.”
According to the group, the Administration is violating Supreme Court precedents set in the 1985 Heckler v. Chaney case by making unilateral changes to the law. In that case, justices ruled that some enforcement actions that accompany laws are subject to judicial review.
The attorneys general also referenced Obamacare security flaws as a major cause of concern, contending that the Administration failed to “propose and implement rigorous privacy standards for outreach personnel.” They also believe that HHS continues to “ignore the widespread public outcry over the security of consumers’ private information.”
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey wrote the letter. Signatories include attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia.