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Barack Obama: Affordable Care Act is here to stay
United States Supreme Court—File photo
by Joseph Earnest June 25, 2015
Newscast Media WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court of the United States gave President Barack Obama a victory in ruling that federal subsidies that help some Americans pay for their Obamacare health plans are legal under the Affordable Care Act.
"...After multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court -- the Affordable Care Act is here to stay," President Barack Obama remarked.
"Because of this law, and because of today’s decision, millions of Americans who I hear from every single day will continue to receive the tax credits that have given about eight in ten people who buy insurance on the new marketplaces the choice of a health care plan that costs less than $100 a month.
"Three generations ago, we chose to end an era when seniors were left to languish in poverty. We passed Social Security, and slowly it was woven into the fabric of America and made a difference in the lives of millions of people. Two generations ago, we chose to end an age when Americans in their golden years didn’t have the guarantee of health care. Medicare was passed, and it helped millions of people.
"This generation of Americans chose to finish the job -- to turn the page on a past when our citizens could be denied coverage just for being sick. To close the books on a history where tens of millions of Americans had no hope of finding decent, affordable health care; had to hang their chances on fate," Obama added.
Justice John G. Roberts wrote in his opinion: "In a democracy, the power to make the law rests withthose chosen by the people. Our role is more confined—“to say what the law is. Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improvehealth insurance markets, not to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter."
In his dissenting view, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, "Having gone wrong in consulting statutory purpose at all, the Court goes wrong again in analyzing it. The purposes of a law must be collected chiefly from its words, not from extrinsic circumstances.
"The Court’s decision reflects the philosophy that judgesshould endure whatever interpretive distortions it takes inorder to correct a supposed flaw in the statutory machinery. That philosophy ignores the American people’s decision to give Congress "a]ll legislative Powers" enumerated in the Constitution. Art. I, §1. They made Congress, notthis Court, responsible for both making laws and mendingthem. This Court holds only the judicial power—the power to pronounce the law as Congress has enacted it. We lack the prerogative to repair laws that do not work out in practice, just as the people lack the ability to throwus out of office if they dislike the solutions we concoct. We must always remember, therefore, that [o]ur task is toapply the text, not to improve upon it."
The entire Supreme Court's decision may be read or downloaded here. (pop-up)
The White House said it will continue to work with the 22 States who have not yet taken advantage of Federal funds to expand Medicaid eligibility to over 4 million Americans in need. Add Comments>>
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