With the United States Supreme Court's decision on healthcare expected to come on Thursday, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon broke with his party on Monday over a key part of the legislation.
Speaking with reporters in St. Louis, Governor Nixon sounded more like a Republican when asked about the impending decision.
Referring to the Affordable Care Act as the “Washington Healthcare Law” Nixon spoke out against the key ingredient of President Obama’s signature legislation—the so-called individual mandate requiring people to purchase health insurance.
“I think I’ve been pretty clear…that the health insurance mandate is not something that I think is a good thing," Nixon said. "Without going into great detail, having the government order you to buy something like that is not something that in the past I’ve supported.”
Nixon is up for re-election this year and had previously taken a low-key approach regarding his statements about the national healthcare overhaul.
Last summer, Missouri voters approved a referendum, by a vote of 71 to 29 percent, rejecting the law’s individual insurance mandate.
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