(The following are statements from local leaders on Thursday's Supreme Court decision on the Obama Administration's health care law. They have not been edited.)
U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan:
"I am pleased that the Supreme Court has brought finality to this divisive debate. I believe that we must now come together – Democrats and Republicans – to ensure the law is implemented in a way that brings quality, affordable health care to North Carolina's families. We must continue working on solutions to problems North Carolina's families face. We must take action to help small businesses that need access to credit, to pass the highway bill that will provide 41,000 jobs in North Carolina and to ensure that our military servicemembers and veterans have the care and resources they need and deserve. It is time to put this debate behind us and return our focus to the number-one issue that the country wants us to address: jobs."
NC Governor Bev Perdue:
"This morning's Supreme Court ruling will be welcome news for the approximately 95,000 young people ages 19 to 25 who will be able to stay on their family's health insurance plan because of this law. "
"It's welcome news for the approximately 539,000 North Carolina children with preexisting medical conditions, because this law prevents insurance companies from denying these children coverage. "
"And it's welcome news for women in North Carolina, who will get preventative health services, like cervical cancer screenings, mammograms, well-woman visits and domestic violence screenings; for seniors, who will benefit from a stronger Medicare and from more affordable prescription drugs; and for families, who will no longer have to worry constantly about having their coverage canceled or about being harmed by lifetime caps on patient care."
"I am committed to continuing to move forward, and to keep fighting to ensure that all North Carolinians have affordable, reliable health coverage that they can count on."
Representative Sue Myrick (NC-09):
"The Supreme Court has ruled. However, a majority of the American people have told us that they do not like the health care law. It is hurting the economy, and driving up health care costs.
We are listening to the people, and on July 11, we will again vote to repeal the law – then replace it with common-sense, patient-centered reforms that lower costs and expand coverage."
Pat McCrory (former Charlotte mayor, current NC gubernatorial candidate):
"Today's decision by the Supreme Court is disappointing and upholds a law that I believe is the wrong approach for the people of North Carolina. This decision reaffirms what we already knew: the national healthcare law supported by Governor Perdue and Lt. Governor Dalton is a tax on North Carolinians. "
"It greatly concerns me that I hear from small business owners in North Carolina that they will not hire more workers because of the costs of this healthcare plan. Our state has one of the worst economies in the country and the last thing our small businesses need is another major impediment to growing their businesses. "
"I hope Congress and our next President can successfully overturn the law and replace it with healthcare reform that is less partisan, divisive, and doesn't put the federal government between doctors and patients."
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Bill James - District 6:
"Looks like a ruling sure to irritate both liberals and conservatives. ObamaCare is based on three rules.
- The first is to charge those that don't have insurance a 'fee' (now a tax).
- The Second is to force the States to pay more to insure the poor via Medicaid (which is now illegal).
- The Third is to require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions (which is legal).
Under the ruling however we have the worst of both worlds for the left and the right but poor are the big losers today because they will have to pay for coverage (fee/tax) OR.... have their 'Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) reduced (as a ‘tax').
Because the States are not legally required to expand Medicaid (poor people health insurance) the Fed's are in a pickle. Insurance companies won't offer them policies and the Fed's were counting on forcing the States to do so under the now illegal ObamaCare provisions (referred to as the "Medicaid Expansion provisions".
Basically, Obama needed the Medicaid expansion so that the State's paid a portion of the cost.
From the conservative side it means the Federal deficit got a whole lot worse.
My guess is that this is the perfect storm for Obama."
NC Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham):
"The North Carolina Senate does not intend to take up the Health Care Exchange bill this session. The General Assembly needs time to process and understand this mixed ruling on Obamacare."
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina):
"The Supreme Court may have failed to stop this government takeover of health care, but the American people will not. Since the day this law was rammed through Congress, the American people have demanded repeal, and today's ruling doesn't make Obamacare any less dangerous to our nation's health. Freedom-loving Americans are disappointed, but we cannot be discouraged.
"The President's health care law must be fully repealed as all of its promises have proven false. We were told it was not a tax hike, but this ruling confirms it is an unprecedented and enormous tax on the poor and middle class Americans. President Obama needs to explain why he is enacting this middle class tax hike over the objections of the American people during the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression.
"We were told it would lower health costs, but health care premiums are exploding. We were told that Americans could keep their personal health plans, but millions will now lose it. We were told it would improve our economy, but it is now the largest obstacle to employers hiring new workers.
"This government takeover of health care remains as destructive, unsustainable, and unconstitutional as it was the day it was passed, unread, by a since-fired congressional majority. Now as then, our first step toward real health care reform and economic renewal remains Obamacare's full repeal, down to the last letter and punctuation mark.
"I urge every governor to stop implementing the health care exchanges that would help implement the harmful effects of this misguided law. Americans have loudly rejected this federal takeover of health care, and governors should join with the people and reject its implementation."
"The President's health care law will not reform anything, but is already undermining what does still work in America's health care system. We cannot build a free market health care system on this flawed structure of centralized government control, we must repeal all of it and start over with commonsense solutions that make health care more affordable and accessible for every American. We can allow Americans to purchase lower cost plans from other states, support state high-risk pools to cover those with pre-existing conditions, medical-malpractice reform to end frivolous lawsuits, and tax equity so Americans who don't get their health insurance from an employer are not penalized."
"Today's decision, however unfortunate, nonetheless represents an opportunity to all Americans, to claim their right to create a health care system of, for, and by the people, not government or special interests. The American people now have the chance and Congress has the responsibility to fully repeal this Washington takeover and reform health care ourselves, together, around the principles of individual liberty, not government mandates.
"The same freedom that made America strong and prosperous will make us healthier, too, so long as politicians remember that the health care system is supposed to serve our people, and not the other way around."
Jim Pendergraph, Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners Vice Chairman and NC District 9 candidate:
"With today's Supreme Court decision, it is now up to the American people to REPEAL Obamacare! The Supreme Court held that the individual mandate at the heart of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is not an unconstitutional mandate, but rather a constitutional new tax. While this distinction means that the law can stand, it does not mean that this law is the best way to provide health care coverage or lower health care costs."
"While faced with an economic recession, President Obama chose to concentrate his efforts on passing this massive, almost $2 trillion dollar tax increase. Meanwhile millions of American workers could lose their current coverage, and healthcare costs continue to rise unchecked. The American people deserve better from their President, and their Congress. They deserve better than a government that believes that to solve problems it just needs to tax more. As I have stated from day one of this campaign, I will do everything in my power to fully repeal Obamacare in its entirety – period!"
"Why do I oppose Obamacare? We can't afford it, it kills jobs, and poor healthcare will result from it. Most of all, I am against it because it represents an unprecedented expansion of government power and is an attack on our personal freedom."
"What is the Solution? The biggest problem with our healthcare system are rising costs. I believe we can reduce the cost of healthcare while also improving the quality of care through medical liability reform, permitting the purchase of health insurance across state lines, expanding health savings accounts, and ensuring access for patients with pre-existing conditions."
"We have to get the government out of medicine and allow for competition to ensure quality healthcare at competitive prices."
Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02):
"Today's decision by the United States Supreme Court is extremely disappointing for limited government and expanded freedom. We should have healthcare based on a doctor-patient relationship rather than a politician-patient mandate. When the President and his liberal allies shoved an extremely unpopular 2,000-page bill through both Chambers of Congress over two years ago, our government began to mandate certain practices on the American people without their consent. The American people know President Ronald Reagan was correct, 'We are learning that the way to prosperity is not more bureaucracy and redistribution of wealth but less government and more freedom for the entrepreneur and for the creativity of the individual.'
"House Republicans must continue to work to repeal the government healthcare takeover bill in its entirety. We will remain focused on enacting common sense legislation that will preserve the doctor-patient relationship, provide every American the access they need to healthcare, and promote job creation through private sector growth."
The Republican National Committee:
"Today's Supreme Court decision sets the stakes for the November election. Now, the only way to save the country from ObamaCare's budget-busting government takeover of health care is to elect a new president," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus."
"Under President Obama's signature legislation, health care costs continue to skyrocket, and up to 20 million Americans could lose their employer-based coverage. A panel of unelected bureaucrats now has the unprecedented authority to come between elderly patients and their doctors. Meanwhile, the rules and regulations placed on job creators and small businesses make it nearly impossible to hire new workers at a time when Americans desperately need jobs."
"We need market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less. The answer to rising health care costs is not, and will never be, Big Government."
"We must elect a president who understands the economy, respects free enterprise, and can provide the leadership we now so desperately need. On Election Day, we must elect Mitt Romney and put America on the path toward a brighter economic future and successful health care reform."
Robert Pittenger, NC District 9 candidate:
"The Supreme Court got it wrong today and this is a crushing blow to patients and freedom. Barack Obama has wasted his entire first term creating and then defending an unpopular monstrosity. The Court has ruled that it is legal, but that doesn't make it right. This decision reaffirms the importance of the elections in November. If elected I will go to Congress and we will repeal ObamaCare in its entirety. We will take it out root and branch. We still live in a republic and that means the people will have the final say in November."
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina):
"The Court has now fulfilled its obligation as final arbiter of the constitutionality of the President's health care law, and I thank them for their service. While the Court has been reviewing this law for months, American families and businesses have been reviewing it for years, and they have rendered their verdict as well. People on both sides of the health care debate will spend the days and weeks to come discussing the impact of today's ruling, but a few things remain clear: our health care system is broken, costs remain unchecked, and outcomes are not improving. I remain committed to addressing these concerns and fulfilling our obligation to the American people to lower health care costs, expand coverage and choice, and build on the innovation that sets America apart from the rest of the world."
Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10):
"In the midst of a grim economic recession, this unpopular healthcare takeover made things worse," Congressman McHenry said. "There's no doubt this law has created a great deal of uncertainty, keeping many small business owners from hiring new workers and acting as a serious impediment to economic growth."
"In a January 2012 U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey of small businesses, 74 percent said that the health care law makes it harder for their firms to hire new workers and 30 percent said they are not hiring at all thanks to the law. In addition, according to a February 2012 Gallup poll, almost half of small businesses said they were not hiring due to concerns about possible rising health care costs and worries about new government regulations."
"Regardless of the Supreme Court's decision, ObamaCare is still bad policy that needs to be replaced with patient-centered reforms that will actually lower the cost of care," McHenry continued. "We should enact medical liability reform, make insurance companies compete for patients business by allowing them to shop across state lines, and expand health savings accounts that give taxpayers control over their own health care decisions. Until we enact real change, premiums will continue to rise for millions of American families."
In response to today's U.S. Supreme Court's decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin issued the following statement on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Insurance:
"The Department of Insurance will continue to do what is within its authority to protect North Carolina consumers and maintain a well-regulated insurance market in our state.
The Department of Insurance has a long-standing tradition of assisting people who have insurance-related questions and concerns. We stand ready to help North Carolinians better understand their rights and responsibilities regarding health insurance under state and federal laws."
North Carolinians who have questions about health insurance or need to file a complaint or appeal with their health insurance company should contact Health Insurance Smart NC at 877-885-0231. Learn more at http://www.ncdoi.com/Smart/.
