Georgia joins lawsuit against health overhaul

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said Friday that the state officially has joined 19 others in a lawsuit challenging the federal health care reform act.

The governor said in a news release that the amended complaint filed Friday in Florida features 20 states, two individual plaintiffs and the National Federation of Independent Business.

"Congress' health care bill will exact a huge cost on our state and curtail our economic growth," Gov. Perdue said in the release. "Congress has gone too far in infringing upon individuals' rights by imposing burdensome regulations on all Americans."

But the director of a health care advocacy group said joining the lawsuit will just delay delivery of better health care and insurance protection for Georgia residents.

"I think the impact of reform for Georgia can be tremendous," said Cindy Zeldin, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future. She cited increased Medicaid funding, insurance pools that will help some of the state's 1.7 million uninsured people afford coverage and strong consumer protections against refusing payment or canceling policies.

"We really hope our state officials and policymakers will take a proactive approach and put the pieces in place to make this work as well as possible for Georgians rather than filing lawsuits," she said.

The original lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Labor on March 23. Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona and Alaska also joined the suit Friday, according to Gov. Perdue's office.

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, a Democrat who is running for governor, refused to join the health care challenge. A team of pro bono attorneys will act as special attorneys general, the governor said.

The lawsuit alleges that the new law violates citizens' constitutional rights by requiring them to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. It also alleges that the penalty amounts to an unconstitutional tax, and that the health care reform law infringes on states' rights.

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