Minn. bill bans spending for fed health care law

A Senate health care panel takes a look Monday at a bill that would bar Minnesota from participating in the federal health care overhaul.

The bill from Republican Sen. Sean Nienow of Cambridge challenges Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton's stance on the health care law.

Dayton has embraced the health care overhaul, expanding the federal Medicaid program in Minnesota and seeking health care grants. He reversed his Republican predecessor, Tim Pawlenty, who had ordered state agencies to avoid discretionary participation in the law.

Nienow's bill would prohibit state spending to plan for or implement the health care law until it's upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee hears the bill Monday. A companion House bill has cleared one panel already.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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