Port: With veto, Burgum sides with Sanford on limiting the health care choices of North Dakotans
TOM STROMME/Tribune Governor Doug Burgum delivers his State of the State Address in front of a joint session of the 66th legislature on Thursday afternoon in the house chamber of the capitol. Gov. Burgum spoke on the state's strong economy and said "we stand at the cusp of a new era in North Dakotas history,
MINOT, N.D. — Gov. Doug Burgum has vetoed House Bill 1416, and that’s not good news for health care choices in North Dakota.
The bill last passed the House 89-3, but got a much narrower 27-20 vote in the Senate, so a veto override is unlikely.
Burgum says his veto is protecting North Dakotans from increasing health insurance costs, but that’s a lot of hot air. His veto enabled an exploitative sort of collusion that gives employers a discount for limiting the covered healthcare choices of their employees.
In a perfect world, you’d be in the driver’s seat regarding your health insurance. You’d pick the company you want to work with and the policy that works best for you on price and coverage, and the whole transaction would be not unlike purchasing auto or home insurance. Not happy with your current health insurance provider? You’d go shopping and choose another.
