Ohio residents voted yesterday to approve an amendment to the state Constitution that would block the highly contentious insurance mandate provision of the healthcare reform law, according to a Columbus Dispatch report.
The constitutional amendment now requires "no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer or healthcare provider to participate in a healthcare system," according to the report.
Despite voters' "overwhelming" approval of the amendment, the federal healthcare reform law supersedes state legislation and still requires Ohio citizens to buy healthcare coverage. The issue of the reform law's constitutionality is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.
Still, opponents of the healthcare reform law consider the new amendment a political victory, arguing it sends a "clear message" amid presidential campaigning efforts that citizens are highly unsatisfied with the reform law.
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The constitutional amendment now requires "no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer or healthcare provider to participate in a healthcare system," according to the report.
Despite voters' "overwhelming" approval of the amendment, the federal healthcare reform law supersedes state legislation and still requires Ohio citizens to buy healthcare coverage. The issue of the reform law's constitutionality is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.
Still, opponents of the healthcare reform law consider the new amendment a political victory, arguing it sends a "clear message" amid presidential campaigning efforts that citizens are highly unsatisfied with the reform law.
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