As many of our Readers already know, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, deciding that the individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance is valid as a tax.
Several local politicians have shared their opinions on this case, and we’ve collected them below:
Congressman Jim McDermott:

“This is a HUGE victory for the American people. I always believed the law would withstand this attack by Tea Party Republicans like Washington State’s Attorney General, Rob McKenna. Now that the court has reaffirmed what we all knew, the President and Congress can finish building the ‘house of health’ in which all Americans will have health security.
“In 2014, 32 million newly insured Americans will come into the health-care system under a commonsense plan that was originally a Republican idea. Republicans will continue to push their agenda to take away the health care of those Americans who are not wealthy or lucky enough to have a job that covers them, and to end Medicare and Medicaid.
“I think the Republican agenda of no safety net and you’re-on-your-own economics is bad for America. I’ll be pushing in the opposite direction – for the financially sustainable, high-quality health security that ALL Americans deserve.”

Julia Patterson, King County Councilmember released the following statement today:

“Access to quality and affordable health care is now going to be a basic human right in this country. I am pleased that the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act ensuring that millions of Americans without insurance will no longer be denied access. This decision affects all by impacting families, our health care system and our economy.”
“The health of King County residents and that of King County’s economy and will be better off with the United States Supreme Court’s ruling today to uphold the Affordable Care Act. The dream, and now the reality, of healthcare for all is within reach after decades of struggling in vain to reduce the number of uninsured residents in our county and state.

King County Councilmember Larry Phillips:

“With implementation of the Affordable Care Act, we will be able to increase the health and stability of King County families as well as that of small businesses, and reduce the amount of charity care shifted to hospitals and local governments like King County. This is a great and historic day for King County and all Americans.”

King County Executive Dow Constantine quickly chimed in Thursday morning, applauding the court for upholding the act.

“I celebrate the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “A stable, healthier future has been made possible by this ruling. This is affirmation of our nation-wide bold move toward achieving quality affordable healthcare, and we are moving in the right direction. And for the nearly quarter of a million people in King County who do not have health insurance this is truly a welcome life-and-death decision.”
“I would like to extend my thanks to the members of our Washington State congressional delegation who championed the Affordable Care Act. They should be proud of their work on this historic legislation.
“Even as today’s ruling upholds the Affordable Care Act, we are not going to rest on our laurels and turn away from efforts to reach those in need; we will continue to make the healthcare system more efficient. We owe it to our residents to keep searching for solutions to the healthcare issues that affect both their money and their health.”

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17 replies on “Local Politicians Respond to US Supreme Court Ruling on Affordable Care Act”

  1. “This Perfect Day” by Ira Levin, 1970
    Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei
    Led us to this perfect day.
    Marx, Wood, Wei, and Christ;
    All but Wei were sacrificed.
    Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx
    Gave us lovely schools and parks.
    Wei, Christ, Marx, and Wood
    Made us humble, made us good.
    CHILD’S RHYME, FOR BOUNCING A BALL.

    1. What an erosion of values!
      I shudder at a child’s chanting this as if these four entirely different Men were interchangeable or even similar!
      Is that the point?
      What am I missing?

  2. It’s so fine to see all these politicians parading their reactions.
    “Don’t we have big hearts? Aren’t we in favor of all good things for all!?
    See how we don’t even need to READ a bill or look at the whole shift in power it has, or even start to think how it is remotely possible without preposterous costs!? We all know that adding thousands of government employees and oversight committees won’t add a penny to the actual cost. Certainly putting the government between a patient & his Dr. will increase availability and effectiveness!”
    We already knew them to be less than informed and highly opinionated. We must start taking responsibility for understanding proposed programs rather than supposing we can elect someone to do all our thinking for us!
    Has any one of them looked at the list of effects?
    1. It is the largest tax increase in American history. Most charges are scattered in ways that would shock even the politicians! It will most radically cost “middle income” families.
    2. This “affordable” monstrosity was passed as a TAX increase OUTSIDE of the Constitutional Process, so It is NOT about health care. It is about giving the govenrnment permission to IGNORE our LAW!
    3. It is about becoming Useful Idiots as we squander what is left of the precious freedoms unique to our system of government as it was designed. Truly we have been radically transformed.
    4. How is it going to be cheaper to assure everyone all the medical attention they desire than it was to take care of the few without insurance?
    5. sputter, sputter… I haven’t even scratched the surface! .2500 or so pages of amazing incursion into what used to be free choice and people are grinning in vacuous contentment!?
    Anyone feel like joining me for coffee to discuss this? The picture is so huge, we need to try to understand it!
    Susie: [email protected]

  3. Are there only two choices…tea-party or socialism? Isn’t there a moderate position somewhere that wishes to remove barriers to competitive insurance, capping claims or are we just on our way to bankrupting the country and the middle class? Didn’t someone recently believe everyone should be able to own a home? How did that turn out?

    1. I like your ideas, Debbi! Removing barriers to competition is about the best solution!
      I am not interested in seeing any compromise with socialism, however. We have everything to lose and nothing to gain.

    1. Bonnie, how could you even frame that sentence?
      Does this vast complicated shift in our whole system look that black & white to you?
      What we are giving away totally eclipses what we are told we can expect.
      Do you imagine that more will be accomplished in better form for less cost by having WA DC put its heavy hand into every corner of the picture? This is creating dozens of bureaucracies, regulations & regulatorsand leaving the ultimate decisions OUTSIDE of the power of the Dr. or the Patient.
      Do you believe what we’d have under a government system will come close to the choice and availability, the range and constantly evolving science we have as freely choosing consumers. We need to remove blocks to competition and allow producers and servers to work freely to get us the best product at the best price.
      The number of folks who are actually “uninsured” is much lower than it looks. Have you looked at just who they are? About 1/3 of them prefer to pay cash. We did for 35 years and found it less expensive than buying insurance. I’d far rather pay a little extra to cover those folks who show up & get treated for nothing than to force every person in the nation to buy enough to cover every other person.
      It really comes down to how it stacks up to the basic questions that Thomas Sowell asks: “At what cost? To what result? “

  4. Great hyperbole Susan. Debi Wagner’s inferred wish for consensis between the major parties can only be hoped for. As some newpaper reports suggest, now that the health care bill has passed, let’s work on refining the portions that need work, not just threaten to “take all your toy’s and leave”.

  5. Wouldn’t you know it…the Democrats love handing over their personal sovereignty to the State. What a bunch of pathetic WEASELS Seattle and King County has elected.
    I’ll take care of my own health care. Get out of my life, you Marxists.

    1. Very Tired, could you have coffee with me and couple others who recognize the the strains of Marx in today’s picture?
      We’ll be at the 909 on 152nd at 10:30 Monday!
      [email protected]

  6. Susie, do you really expect any of these anonymous posters who rant on the b-town blog to actually show their faces? 🙂

    1. Nice hearing from you, Bonnie.
      Sure. Folks who are willing to share their research and thoughts are anxious to get together!
      How about talking in person ourselves?
      I’ll contact you.
      Susie

  7. I must say that Obamacare is not simply about providing healthcare to those that don’t have it. Everyone is for that. But this overblown, unread, bill is about government control of its citizens. They will decide who gets what care or what level of care. Death panels will deny care to those deemed not useful to society, the oldest and the youngest, the most vulnerable. And stuck in there is a definition of what the government considers religion to be; in church but not active in the world. It denies the very essence of what it is to be Christian. And then there is the forcing of paying for both contraception and abortion on those who by right of the free practice of religion, do not want to do these things or pay for others to do them. Those cost of total control is high. The government and the insurance companies get more while the patients and doctors/hospitals get less – less money and less quality care. Only the members of Congress and the President will not live to regret that this was passed, and that is because they will not be relying on it for their medical care. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

  8. “Death Panels”? Really? We already have them. They are called insurance adjusters.

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