Utah Considers Lawsuit Challenging Health Care 'Exchanges'

Published December 23, 2015

A new legal challenge to the health care reform legislation may come out of Utah, where the state's attorney general is reportedly considering challenging the federal mandate telling states to create so-called "exchanges."

State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he believes it is unconstitutional for the federal government to dictate how state governments operate the marketplaces for purchasing health insurance, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday. Utah already has an exchange in place.

"Now it's a sleek, streamlined program with only a few full-time employees running it," Shurtleff told the newspaper. "The federal requirements say you have to do it differently. We think that's unconstitutional, for elected federal officials to tell state elected officials what to do."

Shurtleff, who hasn't yet decided to file, said the complaint could be issued as a separate cause of action within the federal lawsuit filed by 13 states including Utah earlier this month or as a separate lawsuit in the state's federal court, according to the newspaper.

Click here to read more from the Salt Lake Tribune.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/utah-considers-lawsuit-challenging-health-care-exchanges