Personally, I am very pleased about the Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because it represents a step forward in creating a better and more equitable health care system for all Americans.
 
I find it ironic that the two leading presidential candidates from both parties support(ed) an individual mandate. Unfortunately, the facts about health care will be drowned by ideologically driven rhetoric during the election campaign.
 
Now should be the time to explain to the American people that we need to broaden access to high quality and affordable health care. I do not give up the hope that this is possible.
 
Bernd Wollschlaeger, MD, FAAFP, FASAM
NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home


The Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act clears up a few things. First and foremost, millions of people can look forward to health care coverage, making your efforts to work to build a healthier community more fruitful than ever. Also, the hard work hospitals are putting into transforming health care by improving care and reducing costs is even more important now. Clarity on other matters is still off into the future, however. The ruling leaves it up to the states to decide whether to participate in Medicaid expansion – and how they would exercise that option is a question mark. Of course, the next chapter on the Affordable Care Act will be written after the polls close in November; whatever happens, the American Hospital Association will continue to work toward coverage for all, wellness, quality, affordability and the best information on which all stakeholders can make critical decisions.



"The Supreme Court’s decision is the most important safety net related decision since the Social Security Act was upheld by the Court in 1937. It validates Congress’ clear intent to improve seniors’ health and well-being and uphold all of the provisions important to all older adults." Paul Nathanson, National Senior Citizens Law Center Executive Director
 
"Health care reform is vital for the economic health of our nation and the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Today’s decision helps move our nation forward while also protecting America’s elderly, poor, sick, and uninsured by preserving billions of dollars in benefits and countless provisions to cut waste, fraud and abuse that extend these programs’ solvency." Max Richtman, NCPSSM President/CEO
 
The National Senior Citizens Law Center and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare have released new analysis detailing the positive impact the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act will have on older Americans. Virtually every American family will be touched by today’s ruling but America’s elderly will feel the effects in these ways:
 
– Seniors will continue to receive prescription drug savings through brand name and generic discounts
– The Part D prescription drug coverage gap known as the ‘donut hole’ will continue to be phased out
– Covered annual wellness visits for beneficiaries will continue to be provided in Medicare
– Seniors will pay less for preventive services. Under the ACA, Medicare will fully cover screenings like mammograms, pap smears, bone mass measurements, depression screening, diabetes screening, HIV screening and obesity screenings
– Almost 3.3 million uninsured individuals ages 50-64 will be insured through Medicaid
– 8 years has been added to Medicare’s solvency thanks to the Affordable Care Act
 
The future of an estimated 3.3 million uninsured young seniors, ages 50-64, who would have received health coverage under Medicaid and many of the 16 million older adults and individuals with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for long-term services and supports, is less certain with this ruling as the Court has limited the government’s ability to penalize states who do not participate in the expansion of Medicaid.


The U.S. Supreme Court decision today upheld the linchpin of the Affordable Care Act by ruling 5-4 that the government can tax individuals who choose not to buy health insurance.
 
The principal opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts.
 
Five members of the Court agreed that the requirement that individuals either purchase health insurance or make an additional payment on their federal income taxes – the so-called individual mandate – was a constitutionally permissible tax imposed on those who did not purchase health insurance.
 
The individual mandate was thus upheld even though five members of the Court, including Chief Justice Roberts, rejected the government’s principal argument that the individual mandate was a proper exercise of Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause.
 
Five members of the Court also agreed that Congress could withhold new Medicaid funds from states that did not expand their Medicaid coverage as required by the new health care law, but could not withhold funds for pre-existing Medicaid programs.
 
“The ACLU welcomes today’s decision, which recognizes that Congress has the constitutional authority to fix a health care system that does not work for millions of Americans,” said Steven R. Shapiro, ACLU legal director. “The decision is especially welcome for disadvantaged minorities, who are more likely to be uninsured, and for women, who are more likely to suffer gaps and discrimination in their health care coverage.  We trust that the states will recognize those needs and accept the additional funds that the federal government is offering under the new law to expand Medicaid coverage for needy individuals.”


Tom Van Coverden, President and CEO National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), released the following statement today:
 
The U.S. Supreme Court today announced its decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By upholding the constitutionality of the health reform law, the Court has assured that millions of currently-uninsured Americans will have the opportunity to gain insurance coverage over the next few years and that consumers will have vital protections and benefits under the law.  
 
The overall ruling will allow most of the ACA to proceed to full implementation. We are especially pleased that the Court’s decision reaffirms support for expanding access to health care through the nationwide network of Community Health Centers to more people in more communities across America. This means that in the years ahead millions of newly insured people, and communities identified as medical shortage areas, will gain access to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, and the quality, cost-effective primary and preventive services our health centers provide.
 
The only disappointment in the ruling for health centers and the patients they serve is the weakening of the Medicaid expansion. This potentially leaves some of the 16 million eligible low-income people with no affordable coverage alternative, and it possibly denies many of these hard-working Americans the security of having insurance for their health care needs, no matter how complex or serious they may be. 
 
Nevertheless, now it is time to prepare for full implementation of the health reform law. Most of the 16 million people who hopefully will gain coverage under Medicaid expansion in 2014, and many of the additional 16 million people who will be able to purchase coverage through the new state Health Insurance Exchanges, live and work in the same communities that health centers serve. As health care advocates, Community Health Centers will have a major role in creating public awareness and understanding of the law’s benefits and protections, and in helping community residents who qualify to enroll with their Medicaid agencies or the Exchanges so that they are able to gain access to health care that all people need and deserve.