One year after President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, state Sen. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, and state Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, proposed a constitutional amendment to make Wisconsin exempt from the law.
Leibham and Vos introduced the Health Care Freedom Amendment Monday, saying there are still ""serious questions"" remaining about the constitutionality of the law.
In a joint statement, Leibham and Vos said the amendment would protect the rights of individuals to decide what kind of health care they want.
They said it would also prohibit the government from requiring individuals to participate in any health-care program, public or private.
""The Health Care Freedom Amendment will protect citizens from the unconstitutional takeover of health care,"" Vos said in a statement. ""ObamaCare is an assault on our precious freedom to choose the right doctor and health insurance.""
The amendment must be adopted by two successive legislatures and approved by the citizens of Wisconsin through referendum to take effect.
Wisconsin is one of 26 states currently suing the federal government over the constitutionality of the health-care law. Eight states have already passed legislation against it.
Leibham and Vos said they plan on moving the bill forward in the spring legislative session.
UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said this is another example of how polarized the country still is over the controversial health-care law.
""A year later, we are at least as divided as we were when it passed,"" Franklin said.
