Local, State Reaction to Health Care Ruling

By a 5-4 decision, announced this morning, the Supreme Court has upheld President’ Obama heath care law. Numerous local and state officials and candidates are now weighing in on the high court’s ruling.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) called the decision a “blow to freedom.”

Today’s Supreme Court ruling is extremely disappointing for Virginia and for America. The PPACA will create a costly and cumbersome system that will impair our country’s ability to recover from these challenging economic times, infringes on our citizen’s liberties, will harm small businesses, and will impose dramatic unfunded mandates on Virginia and all states. Simply put, this is a blow to freedom. America needs market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less.

Virginia will evaluate the steps necessary to comply with the law. While we have awaited this decision, planners have been working to identify necessary resources and issues to be addressed to ensure Virginia implements this flawed law in the most effective and least costly and burdensome way possible. In coming months, Virginia’s healthcare leaders will work to develop the best possible system to meet the healthcare needs of our citizens. It remains my hope that we will elect a new President and Senate so that the existing law will be repealed and states will be given the freedom they need to implement healthcare solutions that work best for their citizens. We will evaluate the opinion in detail in the days ahead and determine what policies are proper for the people of Virginia.

Rep. Jim Moran (D) applauded the ruling, saying the Affordable Care Act will result in “life-saving reforms.”

Today the Supreme Court reaffirmed what Democrats and President Obama have known for two years; the Affordable Care Act stands on firm constitutional grounds.

People across the country are already benefiting from reforms in the Affordable Care Act, including 6.6 million young people who can stay on their parents’ insurance, 105 million Americans who no longer have a lifetime limit on their coverage, and 5.3 million seniors in the ‘donut hole’ who have saved $3.7 billion on their prescription drugs.

Though today’s ruling provides assurance as the Administration phases in life-saving reforms including a ban on insurance companies denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions, Republicans in Congress will undoubtedly continue their efforts to dismantle critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act. We must continue fighting these efforts in the House of Representatives to repeal ACA.

Passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2009 represented a giant leap forward to not only make our health care system work better for Americans of any age, race, gender, or income level, but to rescue our economy from the suffocating grip of spiraling health care costs. We spend nearly 18 percent of our entire economy on health care – twice what every other industrialized nation pays. The Affordable Care Act will reduce our deficit while improving access to, and the quality of, care for all Americans.

Washington has been struggling to deliver meaningful health care reform for more than six decades. Today’s ruling means the United States can finally see its way closer to delivering on that promise for all Americans.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R), a leading opponent of the health care law, said today is “a dark day for American liberty.” He is planning to hold a press conference at noon today in Richmond to discuss the decision.

This is a dark day for the American people, the Constitution, and the rule of law. This is a dark day for American liberty.

This decision goes against the very principle that America has a federal government of limited powers; a principle that the Founding Fathers clearly wrote into the Constitution, the supreme law of the land. The Constitution was meant to restrict the power of government precisely for the purpose of protecting your liberty and mine from the overreaching hand of the federal government.

This unprecedented decision says that Congress has the authority to force citizens to buy private goods or face fines – a power it has never had in American history, and a power King George III and Parliament didn’t have over us when we were mere subjects of Great Britain. Since the federal government itself could never articulate to the court a constitutional limit to this power, Congress has gained an unlimited power to force citizens to buy anything.

I am disappointed with the court’s ruling and with the unprecedented attack on American liberty the president and the previous Congress have created with this law.

Del. Patrick Hope (D) said today is a “historic day for over 30 million uninsured Americans.”

The United States Supreme Court today issued a historic decision sending shockwaves throughout our country that will affect every American. The decision involves a challenge by opponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which seeks to expand access, coverage, and improve the quality of care to nearly every American.

Delegate Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) reacted, “This is a historic day for over 30 million uninsured Americans. Never again will the sickest and neediest consumers have to put up with lifetime caps on coverage, or will women have to pay more for health insurance than men, or will insurance companies be allowed to discriminate against anyone with a pre-existing condition.” Delegate Hope continued, “Thanks to Obamacare, the new norm will be allowing young people to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, free preventive benefits for seniors, and the opportunity for over 30 million uninsured Americans to access high quality, affordable health insurance.”

Since the law went into effect, Virginians have felt the benefits of the Affordable Care Act:

• 1,498 Virginians have gained coverage through the pre-existing condition insurance plan;
• 66,000 young adults in Virginia have gained health insurance through their parent’s plan;
• 2,974,000 Virginians no longer have a lifetime limit on their health insurance plan;
• 1,519,000 Virginians’ private insurance has added coverage of preventive services without cost sharing;
• 837,645 Virginians with Medicare have received free preventive services; and
• 84,977 Virginians with Medicare saved money on prescription drugs.

Delegate Patrick Hope concluded, “Now that the courts have finally ruled, it’s time Virginia got to work to fully implement the law. I call on Governor Bob McDonnell to bring the General Assembly back into session this year to make the provisions contained in the Affordable Care Act law in Virginia. Specifically, priority number one is to enact legislation giving Virginia the legal authority to implement health insurance exchanges so that small businesses and individual consumers can access high-quality, affordable health insurance. I can think of nothing better we can do to help prop up our economy than to make health insurance affordable for all Virginians.

Congressional candidate Patrick Murray (R), who will be facing off against Moran in November, said “America is on the brink” as a result of the health care law being upheld. Murray promised to work to “defund and dismantle” the law if elected to Congress.

Minutes ago the Supreme Court of the United States issued a monumental opinion, upholding Obamacare.

Unfortunately for freedom-lovers like you and me, the Supreme Court found Obamacare to be legal and constitutional. The Court said that the individual mandate is essentially another Federal tax that the government can impose on all of us. You know that I vigorously disagree with this opinion (not to mention tax increases), and that’s why this election has suddenly become even more important.

Now, more than ever we need strong leaders in Congress who will stop voting to trample on our liberties. We are not a cradle-to-grave Social Welfare State, or at least that’s not what our Founders intended! But with this ruling, America is on the brink.

Here’s my pledge to you – when I get elected to Congress, on DAY ONE I will vote to defund and dismantle Obamacare.

On top of this massive increase in the form of an individual mandate, this travesty increases numerous other taxes, increases our debt, hurts small businesses and cuts $500 billion from Medicare.