Oklahoma Voters to Vote on Obamacare

Lawmakers voted yesterday to give Oklahomans an opportunity to change the state constitution to opt out of a federal health care mandate requiring them to purchase expensive health care policies.


Senate Joint Resolution 59, by state Sen. Dan Newberry and state Rep. Mike Thompson, will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot and, if approved, would prohibit any penalty for failure to purchase insurance and allow doctors to continue to accept direct payment.

SJR 59 is based on American Legislative Exchange Council’s model Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act. The measure has already been enacted in statute form by the Virginia, Idaho, and Arizona legislatures, and constitutional amendments will appear on the Arizona and Florida ballots. Statutory measures have also passed one chamber in Missouri and Tennessee, and active citizen initiatives are underway in Colorado, Michigan, and Mississippi.