State House members on Tuesday voted to rescind a controversial law that prevents health insurers from charging their customers a higher co-payment if they want to see a chiropractor over their family doctor.

But they may consider restoring the law later this year.

The legislation passed overwhelmingly, 108-8, and now goes to the state Senate. But several House members said they supported the law, even if it was born out of cash handed to then-House Speaker Jim Black by chiropractors in restaurant bathrooms.

"I will not join in the hypocrisy of voting for a political action to try to clean up another political action," said Rep. Debbie Clary, a Cleveland County Republican who cast one of the few no votes.

Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, didn't see it that way.

"This is a special provision bought and paid for by bribery," Glazier said. "This isn't a political act to reverse a political act. This is a political act to reverse an illegal act."

Black inserted the provision into the 2005 budget. Like many such provisions, it drew little notice as the mammoth budget bill ran through both chambers and landed on the governor's desk. After its passage, the state's largest health insurer, BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, said the provision should have been run in separate legislation and debated in committee.

Since then, the nonprofit has sought permission to raise its health insurance rates slightly to cover what it says was the $8 million cost of incorporating the provision. Chiropractic officials have acknowledged that North Carolina is the first state in the nation to give such a break to chiropractic patients.

At the time, Black said he inserted the provision out of fairness to chiropractic patients. But last month, Black admitted in federal court that he had received $29,000 in cash and a check from three chiropractors while pushing legislation they supported. Prosecutors identified the special provision as an ill-gotten benefit the chiropractors received.

Several House members said they had heard from constituents who wanted the provision to stand because it saved them money. They wanted one of the bill's sponsors, House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat, to introduce new legislation that could restore it.

"The bottom line is this bill has the potential of hurting hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians as far as paying higher co-payments," said Rep. Earl Jones, a Greensboro Democrat who ultimately voted in favor of killing the law.

Holliman said he will file a bill to restore the law, but that bill will have to go through the normal committee process so that its merits can be debated. He said he set the expiration date of the original provision at Oct. 1 to give lawmakers time to pass a replacement.