PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 8, 2002

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Citizens' Council on Health Care

1954 University Ave. W., Suite 8

St. Paul, MN 55104

CONTACT:Twila Brase, R.N., President

PHONE: 651-646-8935

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MN HEALTH POWERS ACT: Constitutionally Problematic

St. Paul, Minnesota - The Minnesota Emergency Health Powers Act, as

passed Monday in conference committee, violates the Minnesota

Constitution and the constitutional rights of citizens. Citizens'

Council on Health Care, a Minnesota-based health care policy

organization that has followed the bill (HF 3031) since its

introduction, finds several constitutional problems:

1) Due Process is Eliminated. Law-abiding individuals and groups can

be detained in quarantine or isolation without a court order - all

year long. Health officials need only believe that citizens have been

exposed to are infected with a communicable or potentially

communicable disease. No declaration of emergency is required.

Current law requires a court order.

2) No Duty to Disclose. Citizens are given the right to refuse

medical testing and treatment, but state officials and health care

professionals are not required to inform them of this right. This

provides room for coercive actions by state health officials.

3) Separation of Powers not Upheld. The Governor has absolute power

to declare a public health emergency, after which he/she can issue

orders and write rules with the full force and effect of law.

Legislators are bypassed, unless they can by majority vote rescind

the declaration.

4) Governor Empowered in Peacetime. The authority of the Governor to

issue orders and write rules with the full force and effect of law,

and to commandeer property, is expanded to all peacetime emergencies,

related or unrelated to public health emergencies. Current law allows

this authority only during national security or energy supply

emergencies.

5) State Control of Medical Decisions. Despite not having a license

to practice medicine, during a declared emergency, state officials

can commandeer health care facilities and make life and death

decisions on all patients. Officials are not bound by the

professional and medical ethics of the patient-doctor relationship.

They can institute health care rationing.

6) Commandeering of Property. During a national security or

peacetime emergency, state officials may commandeer real estate,

buildings and any mode of transportation. Current law only allows the

commandeering of motor vehicles, tools, appliances and personal

property. And it allows such commandeering only during a national

security emergency.

7) Broad Definition of Public Health Emergency. State officials need

only believe an illness or health condition is caused by a list of

events, and will impact a "large number" of people, before an

emergency is declared and police powers assumed. No actual incident

is required.

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CCHC is an independent non-profit free-market health care policy

organization located in St. Paul, Minnesota

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A free-market resource for designing the future of health care

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Citizens' Council on Health Care

1954 University Ave.W., Suite 8

St. Paul, MN 55104

651-646-8935 phone

651-646-0100 fax

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