Politicians, Trade Groups Chime In On Supreme Court Obamacare Ruling

It didn’t take long for many of Arkansas’ elected officials, candidates running for office, and trade groups representing business interests to comment on the Supreme Court ruling in the King v. Burwell decision.

Talk Business & Politics has rounded up comments on the decision from Arkansas elected officials and other organizations offering statements.

An excerpt from President Obama’s White House press conference this morning:

“[T]oday, after more than 50 votes in Congress to repeal or weaken this law; after a presidential election based in part on preserving or repealing this law; after multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court – the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.

“This morning, the Court upheld a critical part of this law -– the part that’s made it easier for Americans to afford health insurance regardless of where you live. If the partisan challenge to this law had succeeded, millions of Americans would have had thousands of dollars’ worth of tax credits taken from them. For many, insurance would have become unaffordable again. Many would have become uninsured again. Ultimately, everyone’s premiums could have gone up. America would have gone backwards. And that’s not what we do. That’s not what America does. We move forward.”

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Arkansas, released the statement below following the Supreme Court’s ruling in King v. Burwell:

“I am surprised at the lengths to which this court will go in an effort to stretch statutory interpretation to uphold the Affordable Care Act. The decision is disappointing. For now, the court’s decision maintains the status quo. In terms of what this means for Arkansas, we will continue our work with the task force to find innovative solutions for Medicaid and healthcare reform. I am convinced now more than ever that we need to proceed with caution to measure the costs to the taxpayers and the reliability of the outcome as we consider the potential of a state exchange.”

From Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, R-Arkansas:

“Today’s ruling is disappointing because the Supreme Court failed to read the plain text of the law and instead ruled to allow the Obama Administration to further implement a preferred policy and rewrite the law instead of what the law actually states – a practice that has become all too common from this Administration. The Court’s decision threatens the foundation upon which this country was built – that only Congress has the power to write and enact laws. As Attorney General, I will continue to fight to defend the rule of law and to protect Arkansans.”

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas:

“The government must follow the law as it’s written, which is why I believe the Court wrongly decided to approve President Obama’s unlawful implementation of Obamacare. While I respect the Court’s decision, Obamacare remains a fundamentally flawed law that is hurting thousands of Arkansas with higher premiums and copays, higher taxes, and lost jobs. I will work with my colleagues to roll back this unworkable law legislatively and pursue the free-market approach to health care that Arkansans deserve.”

Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, responded:

“Arkansans continue to grapple with the multitude of problems that Obamacare has brought on. From lost coverage to higher out of pocket costs, to fewer choices for patients and more bureaucratic control of the healthcare system, this law has let the American people down. The Court’s ruling doesn’t change that. In fact, Justice Scalia pointedly noted in the dissent that the Court went to great interpretive lengths to protect the law. It is up to Congress to replace this program with market-based solutions that will bring the changes that Obamacare, and all it’s broken promises, simply cannot deliver. I will continue to work with my colleagues to repeal and replace this failed program and give the American people real reform that puts them back in charge of their healthcare decisions.”

Cong. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, said:

“Today the Supreme Court decided to ignore the plain text of the President’s signature law, but the Court’s ruling does not change the fact that Obamacare has increased healthcare costs for millions of Americans and slowed economic recovery under the shadow of a ballooning national debt. The result of a rushed, partisan agenda, The Affordable Care Act should be repealed and replaced to prevent further harm to American families and businesses.”

Cong. French Hill, R-Little Rock, said:

“Today’s decision is disappointing, but it doesn’t change the fact that the President’s healthcare law is bad policy that is increasing costs and reducing patient choice for millions of Americans. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to pass real, patient-centered healthcare reform that is both affordable and consumer friendly.”

Congressman Steve Womack, R-Rogers, released the following statement:

“Today’s ruling does not change the reality that Obamacare is fundamentally flawed, increasing costs for families and businesses alike, killing jobs, making full-time employment harder to find, and limiting choice in and access to health care. Congress must take action to address the Affordable Care Act’s many broken parts and promises. But unfortunately, until Obamacare is repealed, there will always be another mess to clean up, and I will continue to work with my colleagues to develop serious, patient-centered alternatives to replace it.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a 2016 Presidential candidate:

“Today’s King v. Burwell decision, which protects and expands ObamaCare, is an out-of-control act of judicial tyranny. Our Founding Fathers didn’t create a ‘do-over’ provision in our Constitution that allows unelected, Supreme Court justices the power to circumvent Congress and rewrite bad laws. The Supreme Court cannot legislate from the bench, ignore the Constitution, and pass a multi-trillion dollar ‘fix’ to ObamaCare simply because Congress misread what the states would actually do. The architects and authors of ObamaCare were intentional in the way they wrote the law. The courts have no constitutional authority to rescue Congress from creating bad law. The solution is for Congress to admit they screwed up, repeal the ‘nightmare of Obamacare’, and let states road-test real health care reforms.

“Everywhere I go, I talk to American families who keep getting punched in the gut with outrageous insurance premiums and infuriating hospital bills. ObamaCare was railroaded through Congress to ‘solve’ our healthcare problems, but five years later, American families are getting railroaded by runaway mandates, big government bureaucracy, and out-of-control healthcare costs. ObamaCare is a $2.2 trillion Washington disaster that raided billions from Medicare and did nothing to fix our broken system of ‘sick care,’ which rewards irresponsibility and penalizes commonsense.”

TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, POLITICAL ADVOCACY GROUPS

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) touts itself as the nation’s leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses. It “hailed the decision” from the court.

“At a time when affordable health care premiums continue to be a major concern for small business owners, today’s ruling comes as a relief to the millions of mom-and-pop business owners across the country who are complying with the individual mandate requirement, but happen to live in a state who declined to establish a state-based exchanges,” said Katie Vlietstra, NASE’s Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs. “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court validates the clear intent of Congress, which was to ensure premium assistance was made available to all Americans, regardless of where they purchased their health care.

“It’s our hope that after today’s decision, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle move forward and get to work to address the problems that still exist with the new health care law. From providing the self-employed with increased affordability through enhanced coverage tiers, to misinterpretation of the applicability of the use of health reimbursement accounts and the calculation of premium assistance, there is still a lot of work left undone.”

Americans for Prosperity Arkansas issued the following statement in response to the decision:

“Today’s decision has no effect on the burden that Obamacare has placed on Arkansas families, individuals and businesses,” said David Ray, state director of Americans for Prosperity Arkansas.”The taxes and mandates of Obamacare will continue to cripple our healthcare, as Washington remains focused on politics instead of people. We will not stop pushing Congress to enact state-based, patient-focused reforms so that healthcare is affordable and accessible for all.”

The National Retail Federation issued the following statement:

“Now that the court has spoken, it is imperative that Congress seize the opportunity and address the most egregious errors in this poorly constructed law to ease unreasonable compliance burdens and reduce the cost of coverage for employers and employees alike.

“Questions about the effectiveness of the Affordable Care Act persist five years after its enactment. The ACA’s impractical and unworkable regulations and requirements continue to cast a shadow on employer-sponsored health coverage.

“It’s time to repeal the employer mandate, reform or eliminate onerous reporting requirements and restore the traditional 40-hour workweek as the standard for eligibility. Provisions that add to the cost of health care coverage such as the ‘Cadillac Tax’ and the too-extensive ‘essential’ health benefit mandates should also be repealed.

“The Supreme Court decision should provide the pressure needed to thaw out congressional intransigence over health care and pave the way for both parties, Congress and the administration to work together to reform the ACA to make it more practical and reasonable. The nation’s business community will not stand by as partisan bickering trumps prudent changes.

“There are no more excuses for congressional inaction and political posturing. We urge Congress to seize the moment and fix the health care law.”

The American Academy of Actuaries today said the decision “averted significant disruptions” to insurance markets.

“The ACA’s premium subsidies work together with the individual mandate as incentives for even individuals in good health to obtain coverage,” said Academy Senior Health Fellow Cori Uccello. “Had the court’s majority decided differently, the federal-marketplace states would be facing significant disenrollment of those who cannot afford insurance without the subsidies, and the consequences of that could have threatened the viability of those markets. In the loss-of-subsidy scenario, adverse selection would have been a serious concern, as relatively higher-cost individuals would have retained coverage, increasing average costs and premiums.”

“While the legal challenge to subsidies has been decided, the Academy urges policymakers to assess any proposals that may be offered to modify or replace the ACA against these important market reform principles,” said Uccello.