OPINION: Can tribes be exempt from Obamacare?

As President Reagan once said, “There you go again!”

But now we have to ask, when does it stop? From the battle flag of the Confederacy to the Little Sisters of the Poor. From the Ten Commandments, to a statue of Christ. From “It all depends on what the meaning of is, is?” to “If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.” And the best one so far: “At this point, what difference does it really make?”

Now we have the sovereign nations of the tribes disputing the interpretation of the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. For under Obamacare any business that employs more than 50 people is subject to the insurance mandates and the federal government is saying, “That includes the Indian tribes.” But the Indians are saying, “No it doesn’t, because we are a sovereign nation unto ourselves.” In the state of Montana alone, the Blackfeet, the Crow and the Sioux tribes have raised opposition to this law.

Almost every Republican in existence is opposed to the Affordable Care Act and will try in this upcoming election for the presidency to make the case for having the law repealed, and according to most constitutional acholars, it is an over-reach by the government into the private lives of its citizens.

Therein lies the conundrum. Where does “One nation under God” stop and the sovereignty of the tribes begin? If we are truly “One nation under God,” then that includes the Indians. On the other hand, if the tribes are a sovereign nation unto themselves, then why do we have the Department of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C.? Should it not be an embassy?

Perhaps the real question is, “Why did the courts allow the government to implement socialized medicine into this republic in the first place?”

This is a real can of worms that never should have been opened. An interpretation by the Supreme Court as to whether a mandate under this proposed law was a tax or a penalty determined the fate of the medical profession in this country and the implementation of medical services to the population.

The Affordable Care Act is now a reality for the time being and the challenges to this law have only just begun.

Garvey is a resident of Kalispell.