Local Parties React To Affordable Care Act Ruling

The Affordable Care Act is here to stay. At least that’s what the Supreme Court said Thursday in a 6 to 3 vote to uphold the healthcare program.

The ruling maintains that those government subsidies that make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans should be available to all who qualify, not just the states who have their own health exchanges.

The ruling means the program will not change, and qualified individuals purchasing health insurance through the federal marketplace will continue to qualify for premium tax credits. But because this is the second time the Supreme Court has voted in favor of it, the healthcare law will be that much more difficult to change in the future.

"It showed that there’s an enduring majority on the court willing to support the constitutionality of the law," Fresno State Political Science Professor Dr. Thomas Holyoke said.
 
Thursday’s Supreme Court vote of 6 to 3 rejected a major challenge that would have endangered the landmark law and health insurance for millions of Americans.

It’s been challenged before. In 2012, the court upheld the constitutionality of the act on a 5 to 4 vote. Both decisions make any future changes in the law difficult.

"Anybody who wants to get rid of it is probably going to have to go back to Congress, in fact, Chief Justice John Roberts, who actually wrote today’s decision, basically said that that’s the only way the law is going to get changed," Holyoke said.

It’s a victory for Democrats everywhere.

"With the two supreme court decisions now, I think it’s well established, and we’re going to continue moving it forward, and I think we can start making it better," Fresno Co. Democratic Party Chairman Michael Evans said.
 
Evans says the decision also keeps millions of Americans covered.

"It means that all of these folks that have been insured will continue to be insured, and we’re not going to rip coverage from them," Evans said.

But on the other side, Fred Vanderhoof with the Fresno Co. Republican Party says Thursday’s ruling was disappointing.

"We feel like somebody in Washington D.C. deciding what healthcare the American people should have is not the way to go," Vanderhoof said.

But Vanderhoof says they will continue fighting, and the Affordable Care Act will definitely come up again next November.

"This is not over yet, and I think it’s going to be a main topic in the Presidential Election," Vanderhoof said.

Other legal challenges are working their way through the courts, but they appear to pose lesser threats to the law.