The U.S. Supreme Court made a historic ruling Thursday on the Affordable Care Act. Also known as “Obamacare” in the media, the court ruled 5-4 that the individual mandate, a key component of the law, was constitutionally valid — but only if it was interpreted officially as a tax.
“Whatever the politics,” President Obama said, “today’s decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure because of this law and the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold it.”
Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney criticized the decision and repeated his opposition to the law.
“Obamacare was bad policy yesterday,” he said. “It’s bad policy today.” He vowed to act to repeal the law if elected next November.
In Oregon, Gov. John Kitzhaber praised the Supreme Court’s decision, saying the act “will help all Oregonians, including the 600,000 Oregonians who are uninsured, have better access to health coverage.” @@How on earth do we rewrite this????@@
Bruce Goldberg, director of the Oregon Health Authority, agreed with the governor.@@checked@@
“Today’s decision will make it possible for an estimated 180,000 to 200,000 more people to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan in 2014,” Goldberg said. “Hundreds of thousands more people will have access to the health insurance exchange.”
PeaceHealth Medical Group, which runs the Eugene Sacred Heart Medical Center, issued a statement about the decision as well.
“The Supreme Court’s decision allows us all to move forward on the path to reform,” PeaceHealth’s statement read. “Challenges remain, particularly with regard to Medicaid financing. PeaceHealth supports reform based on our longstanding conviction that all Americans should have access to basic health services and health insurance.”