Last summer, the S.C. House of Representatives voted to nullify Obamacare, by, among other provisions, forbidding state and local agencies from giving information or assisting in Affordable Care Act enrollment.

It seems the usual symbolic statement, expected in a state which has refused to set up a state exchange and decided not to accept the expansion of Medicaid. Maybe you hate Obamacare anyway. Or perhaps you believe it doesn't affect you since you have health insurance through a private employer or it doesn't affect you because you are on Medicare, in the Army, etc.

However, this bill will affect every S.C. taxpayer. The bill includes a provision to reimburse every taxpayer for any federally mandated tax by reducing their state taxes by the same amount. I'm not sure where these payments will come from -- education, roads, parks, the general fund?

The ACA-mandated tax penalty starts out as a low dollar figure in 2014, but in 2016, it will be $695 per adult and $2,085 per family. There are about 765,000 uninsured in South Carolina, so by any formula, this law could reduce available tax dollars by millions of dollars.

We already pay the medical bills for people who are uninsured. We don't need to subsidize their refusal to protect themselves.

Lynn Tyson

Bluffton