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Officials respond to Supreme Court's health care ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the national health care bill Thursday morning received opposing viewpoints on both sides of the political spectrum.
On a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld provisions of the National Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle said the Supreme Court's decision ensures hard-working, middle class families will get the security they deserve while protecting Americans from the worst insurance company abuses.
"A major impact of the court's decision is the 129 million people with pre-existing conditions and millions of middle class families who will have the security of affordable health coverage, said DeParle, who also serves as an assistant to President Barrack Obama.
In a press statement released shortly after the ruling, DeParle emphasized that insurance companies "no longer have unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women more than men."
In addition, Americans will no longer be denied health care or charged more due to a pre-existing condition, like cancer or asthma. Meanwhile, efforts will remain in place to strengthen and protect Medicare by cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse, she added.
Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) called Thursday's ruling "very disappointing" and doesn't reflect the ruling Americans wanted.
In a press statement, Crapo said Americans "overwhelmingly want solutions" to provide access to high-quality, affordable health care.
"This law did not fix the rising cost of health care," the senator said. "This law... fails on promises to lower health costs and premiums for working families. It fails on promises for American people to keep their health care plan if they liked it, and millions of people have learned they cannot."
The bill also increases the burden on small businesses to hire workers and ultimately "threatens our country's financial strength and the American way of life," he added.
During the earlier debate on the health care law, the president pledged to the American people that family making less than $250,000 would see their taxes increase. However, the high court's ruling today further confirms that this bill violated this pledge, the senator added.
"The Congressional Budget Office has stated that more than 75 percent of the individual mandate -- a tax -- will be paid by those middle-income families the president pledged to protect from any tax increase," Crapo said.
Meanwhile, Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) said the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the health care bill on the basis it was a tax increase -- something the president and Democrats have adamantly denied.
"The Supreme Court has now ruled that it is a tax increase, underscoring the deception by which this law passed," Risch said in a prepared statement.
"Also, the provision of the Supreme Court's decision which prohibits the federal government from forcing the states to expand Medicaid is a major issue," the senator added. "This holding will greatly limit what the law intended to do, which was to provide free health care to an additional 20 to 30 million people. With today's ruling, states will be relieved of this burden, and the law's primary objective will fail."
Risch urged members of Congress that voted in favor of this law to join efforts to repeal what he called a "massive tax increase." The senator seeks to see it replaced with a "reasonable and understandable plan that reduces costs and allows Americans to choose the health care plan and provider they want."
Responding to critics of the Supreme Court decision, DeParle emphasized that having health insurance will continue to be a choice.
"If you can't afford insurance or you're a small business that wants to provide affordable insurance to your employees, you'll get tax credits that make coverage affordable," she said. "But if you can afford insurance and you choose not to purchase it, the taxpayers will no longer subsidize your care for free."
In addition, DeParle said it's time to focus on implementing the law.
"The last thing Congress should do is refight old political battles and start over on health care by repealing basic protections that provide security for the middle class," she said. "The president refuses to go back to the way things were."
In addition, Congress needs to work together to focus on the economy and creating jobs, DeParle said.
"What's at stake is our chance to seize this moment to build an economy not from the top-down but one based on a strong and secure middle class," she added. "It's time for folks in Washington to work together on behalf of the American people."
Crapo emphasized his plan to continue to address the nation's health care problems and to reform the tax code "to make it simpler, not more complex and burdensome," for Americans.
"With increased public awareness and clarity, we can improve our health care system and reform our tax code accordingly," Crapo said. "Today's ruling makes it even more important to do so."