The Independent View: NY AG Prepares to Fight Senate GOP's Health Care Bill

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said he may Sue the Federal Government to Block the Implementation of Portions of the House Passed and current Senate Republican Health Care Legislation President Trump has urged Lawmakers in Washington to pass this week.

Schneiderman told the Association for a Better New York Tuesday that he is "prepared to challenge in court" aspects of the Bill unveiled last week in the Senate, including Cuts in Federal Funding to Planned Parenthood. And he said he is "Committed" to Challenging the Bill's New York-Only Provision to Shift Medicaid Costs from Counties to the State.

The Attorney General told Reporters at the Manhattan Event that one Lawsuit could Argue that a Bill with that Provision that Passes the Congress would Interfere with the Constitutionally Protected Rights of Women. “Whether they like it or not, women have a constitutionally protected right to an abortion,” Schneiderman told Reporters. “If there are sections of the country where Planned Parenthood … is the only abortion provider, there are cases that say you can’t impose an undo burden” on them, by cutting their funding, he said.

The Medicaid Cost-Shift, he argued, raises Issues of State’s Rights. That Provision of the Health Care Legislation, which was also factored into the Health Care Bill Passed by the House, is being pushed by Republican Reps. Chris Collins and John Faso. The Policy could force the State, led by Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to dramatically Raise Taxes, according to Schneiderman. The Legal Argument against the Maneuver, Schneiderman said, is that Federal Legislation has no Role in Determining how States and their Counties Divide Expenses. “Every federal statute has to have what’s called a legitimate federal interest,” the Attorney General said. “For them to come in and say, 'we don’t like the way New York deals with its counties,' that’s a core state function, and the question is, ‘whats the legitimate federal interest?’ It doesn’t Increase or Decrease Healthcare, it just messes with New York’s Internal Processes which, as far as we’re concerned, is not a legitimate federal interest.”

The Senate's Health Care Bill, though, is facing Problems outside the New York Attorney General's Control. Senate Republicans put their Plan to Vote on the Bill this week on Hold, with Support for the Legislation Insufficient within the GOP.