Reactions to Obamacare Ruling

Here is Missouri Senator Roy Blunt’s statement in the Supreme Court’s ruling:
““For more than five years, I’ve heard from countless Missouri workers, seniors, and families who are facing higher costs and fewer choices due to the president’s health care takeover. And Missourians recently learned more bad news when the Obama Administration announced premium rate increases for our state in 2016 of up to 34 percent.

“This law has been one false promise after another. First, the president promised people if they liked their health care, they could keep it. He insisted that not having coverage would result in a penalty, not a tax, and he promised affordable health care to millions of Americans who now find they cannot afford it.

“While I’m disappointed that the Court didn’t ultimately accept what the law actually said, I’ll keep fighting to protect Missourians from the president’s flawed health care plan and replace it with a patient-centered system that lowers costs, increases choices, and provides greater access to quality care.”

MO- 3 Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer:

“For more than five years, I’ve heard from countless Missouri workers, seniors, and families who are facing higher costs and fewer choices due to the president’s health care takeover. And Missourians recently learned more bad news when the Obama Administration announced premium rate increases for our state in 2016 of up to 34 percent.

“This law has been one false promise after another. First, the president promised people if they liked their health care, they could keep it. He insisted that not having coverage would result in a penalty, not a tax, and he promised affordable health care to millions of Americans who now find they cannot afford it.

“While I’m disappointed that the Court didn’t ultimately accept what the law actually said, I’ll keep fighting to protect Missourians from the president’s flawed health care plan and replace it with a patient-centered system that lowers costs, increases choices, and provides greater access to quality care.”

MO-3 Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer:

“Today the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare in the case of King v. Burwell. While I had hoped for a different outcome, this does not mean that I will give up the fight to chip away at the costly and job killing components of the president’s failed health-care law. I will continue to listen to the people of the 3rd District and work with my colleagues to repeal the most onerous pieces of Obamacare and am also looking ahead towards a future where real solutions can be made – solutions that focus on freedom, empowerment, flexibility, and putting doctors and patients back in charge of health-care.”

KS-2 Rep. Lynn Jenkins:

“Today the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare in the case of King v. Burwell. While I had hoped for a different outcome, this does not mean that I will give up the fight to chip away at the costly and job killing components of the president’s failed health-care law. I will continue to listen to the people of the 3rd District and work with my colleagues to repeal the most onerous pieces of Obamacare and am also looking ahead towards a future where real solutions can be made – solutions that focus on freedom, empowerment, flexibility, and putting doctors and patients back in charge of health-care.”

MO-5 Rep. Emanuel Cleaver:
“The Supreme Court has said it again and again: The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land,” said Congressman Cleaver, II. Today’s decision saves lives. The ACA is helping millions of Americans focus on their families, jobs, and quality of life, instead of worrying about what will happen if they and their family members get hurt or sick. Now I am no lawyer—I am simply a United Methodist preacher. Even I can tell you, the text, structure, and history of the law have always been crystal clear on this: tax credits are available to all eligible Americans, regardless of whether they live in a State that chose to set up its own Exchange or, in a State, like Missouri, that chose to let the Federal government set one up for it. As the majority opinion states, ‘Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them.’ Some political partisans have been trying to eke out a victory against President Obama and Congressional Democrats, at the expense of people’s health, well-being, and wallets. Today’s decision protects 6.4 million Americans across the country and 200,000 in Missouri from suffering. It is a victory for us all.

MO-6 Rep. Sam Graves:

“I strongly disagree with today’s ruling, but it does not change my resolve to fully repeal Obamacare,” Rep. Graves said. “The president’s health care law has led to higher costs, fewer jobs, and tremendous uncertainty for families and small businesses.”

“What’s worse, Obamacare takes healthcare decisions out of the hands of patients and doctors and leaves them up to bureaucrats in Washington,” Rep. Graves continued. “Regardless of the outcome of this ruling, I will continue working to replace Obamacare with patient-centered, free market reforms that protect Americans from this harmful law.”

Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon:
““Today’s ruling is good news for hundreds of thousands of working Missourians who will continue to have access to affordable health coverage through the federal exchange,” said Gov. Nixon. “However, it is important to note that there are hundreds of thousands more Missourians who continue to be denied access to affordable health care due to the Missouri legislature’s inaction on Medicaid.

“Today’s ruling by the Roberts Court to uphold the Affordable Care Act a second time removes all doubt that the ACA is and will remain the law of the land. There are no more excuses for continuing to send our tax dollars to other states and denying 300,000 working Missourians the opportunity to access affordable health care coverage through Medicaid expansion. I look forward to working with the General Assembly next session to finally bring our tax dollars home and provide affordable health coverage to hundreds of thousands of hard-working Missourians through Medicaid expansion.”