A proposal working its way through the Pennsylvania state Senate would take the individual mandate from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires individuals to purchase health insurance and let voters decide in the form of a ballot question.
The proposal, co-sponsored by 19 lawmakers led by Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, would be a constitutional amendment that would allow citizens to ban laws that force people to buy health insurance. The legislation is set to go before the appropriations committee March 26 at the earliest, the same day the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to begin oral arguments over the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama in 2010. The state Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved the proposal earlier this month.
If the proposal is backed by the Senate and House of Representatives, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett approves, voters could decide on the issue as early as next year.
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Legislators in 23 other states have proposed similar legislation, according to Bloomberg. Voters in Ohio and Arizona have approved constitutional amendments that would prevent citizens from being required to get health insurance.