Last week, in an 7-2 ruling in California v. Texas, the Supreme Court delivered a massive repudiation of the Republican war on health care. By throwing the lawsuit out on standing, the court protected the health care coverage of more than 20 million Americans and prevented more than 135 million people with pre-existing conditions from losing the protections they rely on, and many other key ACA provisions. The lawsuit was former President Trump and his Republican allies’ last-ditch effort to dismantle the ACA after they failed to do so in Congress.
The court’s decision to affirm the ACA should mean the end of the road for Republicans’ relentless attacks on the law. Press coverage makes clear that the ruling creates momentum for President Biden and the Democratic majorities in Congress’ to build on the ACA to further expand coverage, lower costs, and reduce disparities in care.
To celebrate the victory for millions of American families and hold Republicans accountable for their attack on health care, Protect Our Care hosted a national press call and events in Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin last week.
NATIONAL
The Hill: Supreme Court Upholds ObamaCare In 7-2 Ruling. “’The Supreme Court Has Spoken: The Affordable Care Act Is the Law of the Land,’ was the title of a statement from the Democratic group Protect Our Care, founded to fight GOP repeal efforts in 2017. The decision ‘brings to an ignominious close a decade of Republican attacks on American health care,’ the group said.” [The Hill, 6/17/21]
New York Times: Republicans Wave The White Flag On Health Care (for Now). “‘Hopefully, this will be the end of the line,’ said Brad Woodhouse, the executive director of the liberal group Protect Our Care and one of many Democrats who took a victory lap after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday. ‘If Republicans continue to do this, they are likely to continue to lose elections on this issue’.” [New York Times, 6/18/21]
NBC News: Supreme Court Ruling on Obamacare Brings Relief, Hope to Patients. “Leslie Dach, who was a senior counselor at the Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration, founded the liberal group Protect Our Care to defend the law’s public image and fight the many legal challenges against it. He said that the group will continue the efforts but that it is refocusing its energies to push to make the American Rescue Plan subsidies permanent, create a federal solution to expand Medicaid in resistant states and lower the price of drugs. ‘We’ve been arguing for this agenda, as have others, because we have this once-in-a-decade opportunity to move forward,’ Dach said, ‘but this now clears the path and hopefully puts the wind in the back of those sails’.” [NBC, 6/17/21]
Axios: The Obamacare Wars End In A Whimper. “Democrats have shifted the health care debate toward bigger, more direct forms of government coverage, and Republicans — still without much of a platform of their own — have in turn channeled their energy into attacking Medicare for All, rather than the ACA.” [Axios, 6/18/21]
Politico: Obamacare Now Appears Safe. The Battle Over Its Future Continues. “The ruling will give new energy to Democratic efforts to build on Obamacare, through richer insurance subsidies and potentially a public option.” [Politico, 6/17/21]
The Hill: ‘It’s Still A BFD’: Democrats Applaud Ruling Upholding ObamaCare. “Health experts have recently noted that the policy has proved to be a substantial resource for Americans who lost health care coverage amid job losses during the coronavirus pandemic. The Biden administration announced recently that a total of 31 million Americans were covered under ObamaCare.” [The Hill, 6/17/21]
The Hill: Five Takeaways On The Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision. “With the ACA further entrenched, and control of the House, Senate and White House, Democrats are looking at ways to build on the health law. Allowing the government to negotiate lower drug prices also could make it into the package.” [The Hill, 6/17/21]
NBC: What Now? Congress Eyes New Era Of Health Policy After Obamacare Survives. “Progressive Democrats are pushing to use President Joe Biden’s economic package to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices and to expand the program by lowering the eligibility age to less than 65 and adding benefits like dental care, eyeglasses and hearing aids.” [NBC, 6/17/21]
CNN (Video): Obamacare Has Survived Over 2000 Attempts To Kill It. “CNN’s John Avlon looks at the many hurdles that the Affordable Care Act has had to overcome. Despite all the attempts to repeal it, the latest Supreme Court ruling saved it again, the ACA remains the law.” [CNN, 6/17/21]
AP News: GOP Needs New Health Care Target; ‘Obamacare’ Survives Again. “Thursday’s 7-2 ruling was the third time the court has rebuffed major GOP challenges to former President Barack Obama’s prized health care overhaul. Stingingly for Republicans, the decision emerged from a bench dominated 6-3 by conservative-leaning justices, including three appointed by President Donald Trump.” [AP News, 6/18/21]
The Pink Report News. Obama Brags About Supreme Court Ruling – ‘The Affordable Care Act Is Here To Stay’. “The Democratic group Protect Our Care, which was founded to fight GOP repeal efforts in 2017, was quick to celebrate the ruling. ‘The Supreme Court Has Spoken: The Affordable Care Act Is the Law of the Land,” the group said, adding that the decision “brings to an ignominious close a decade of Republican attacks on American health care’.” [The Pink Report News, 6/18/21]
ARIZONA
Gila Herald: O’Halleran Issues Statement Regarding Supreme Court Ruling in Favor of ACA. “‘Today, in a 7-2 ruling, the Supreme Court delivered a massive repudiation on the Republican war on health care…By throwing the lawsuit out on standing, the court protected the health care coverage of more than 20 million Americans and prevented more than 135 million people with pre-existing conditions from losing the protections they rely on, and many other key ACA provisions.’” [Gila Herald, 6/17/21]
ABC 15: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act, Third Time a Republican-led Challenge Has Failed. “Other provisions of the A.C.A. like parents being able to keep their children on their health insurance until the age of 26, and either drop or require people with pre-existing conditions to pay more. ‘The U.S. Supreme Court has really had the back of the opponents of A.C.A.’ said Humble.” [ABC 15, 6/17/21]
FLORIDA
Florida Politics: Nikki Fried, Lori Berman Slam Ashley Moody’s Failed Obamacare Challenge. “The high court, in a 7-2 decision, contended that a collection of states, including Florida, lacked standing to challenge the law. Fried, on a press call for the pro-ACA group Protect Our Care, hailed the decision, and castigated Attorney General Ashley Moody for what she called a ‘shameful’ choice to join the challenge to the Obama-era health care law.” [Florida Politics, 6/17/21]
The Palm Beach Post: Florida Democrats Hail Supreme Court Obamacare Ruling That Deals GOP Defeat. “A years-long legal battle waged against the Affordable Care Act by Republican leaders in states such as Florida ended in a resounding defeat Thursday. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against a legal challenge filed by the Trump administration to void the law. Instead, the high court left the law, known broadly as Obamacare, intact and in place. Florida Democrats, who have long railed against efforts to strike down the law in the courts, hailed the victory.” [The Palm Beach Post, 6/17/21]
WUSF Public Media: Florida Democrats, ACA Advocates Embrace Supreme Court Ruling. “The high court on Thursday rejected a challenge by Florida and 17 other states to the Affordable Care Act, leaving intact the law that has helped more than 2 million Floridians obtain subsidized health insurance this year.” [WUSF Public Media, 6/18/21]
WMFE: Florida Leads U.S. In People Insured By Obamacare Plans. “More than 2 million Florida residents have gotten subsidized health insurance through the federal marketplace at healthcare.gov. Florida has the most people enrolled in these plans in the US….The court has upheld the law three times.” [WMFE, 6/18/21]
OHIO
Gongwer Ohio: Ohioans Weigh In After High Court Again Allows Obamacare To Stand. “The nation’s highest court on Thursday declined for the third time to strike down the Affordable Care Act. In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found several Republican attorneys general and two individuals that filed the lawsuit seeking to have the health care law deemed unconstitutional in its entirety lacked standing.” [Gongwer Ohio, 6/17/21]
NBC4 Columbus: Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Obamacare. “The justices, by a 7-2 vote, left the entire law intact Thursday in ruling that Texas, other Republican-led states and two individuals had no right to bring their lawsuit in federal court.” [NBC4 Columbus, 6/17/21]
WEST VIRGINIA
Metro News: US Supreme Court Upholds ‘Obamacare’ in GOP-led Challenge. “The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a third challenge to former President Barack Obama’s health care law, ruling 18 Republican states — including West Virginia — and individual plaintiffs lacked standing in their legal efforts.” [Metro News, 6/17/21]
West Virginia Public Broadcasting: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act, a Loss For W.Va.’s Attorney Gen. “The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a case seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Eighteen Republican-led states, including West Virginia, signed on to a case to get rid of the ACA.” [West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 6/17/21]
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Examiner: Relief, Applause Greets Supreme Court Ruling That Leaves ACA Intact. “Wisconsin officials and health care activists welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday that upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA), keeping in place the 11-year-old law that has expanded access to health insurance. The court ruled 7-2 that the plaintiffs had no right to bring the case.” [Wisconsin Examiner, 6/18/21]
UpNorthNews: Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Again, Saving Health Coverage for 2.4 Million in Wisconsin. “The suit sought to invalidate the entire law based on the law’s individual insurance mandate, which previously carried a tax penalty for uninsured people. Congress lowered the penalty to $0 in 2018. The Supreme Court rejected the challenge on a 7-2 vote, with Trump-appointed justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joining the majority.” [UpNorthNews, 6/17/21]