Government
Arizona referendum would ban individual mandates
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 8, 2008
A constitutional amendment that would prohibit laws penalizing people who do not buy health insurance will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot in Arizona after the referendum authors successfully gathered the required 230,000 valid signatures.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Aceto ruled on Aug. 14 that Medical Choice of Arizona, a citizens' group chaired by Eric Novack, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Glendale, Ariz., had gathered the necessary signatures. The amendment, called the Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act, states in part that no law can impose a "penalty or fine of any type for choosing to obtain or decline health care coverage or for participation in any particular health care system or plan."
The referendum is available online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/09/08/gvbf0908.htm.