Local Democrats Celebrate Obamacare Ruling; Bush and Rubio Vow to Continue Fighting

Today, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in a case that left Obamacare's federal health care subsidies intact. Local Democrats celebrated the decision like it was a final victory for permanent health care reform in America, while Miami's two presidential candidates vowed to keep fighting the law. Other major state and local Republicans, including Gov. Rick Scott, have so far remained silent. 

Marco Rubio quickly took to Twitter to sum up why we need "ConsumerCare." 

I disagree with the Court’s ruling and believe they have once again erred in trying to correct the mistakes made by President Obama...

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

...and Congress in forcing ObamaCare on the American people.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

Despite the Court’s decision, ObamaCare is still a bad law that is having a negative impact on our country and on millions of Americans.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

I remain committed to repealing this bad law and replacing it...

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

...with my consumer-centered plan that puts patients and families back in control of their health care decisions.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

We need Consumer Care, not ObamaCare.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

Jeb Bush also echoed Rubio's promise to repeal and replace the law in his own statement:

I am disappointed by today’s Supreme Court ruling in the King v. Burwell case. But this decision is not the end of the fight against Obamacare.

This fatally-flawed law imposes job-killing mandates, causes spending in Washington to skyrocket by $1.7 trillion, raises taxes by $1 trillion and drives up health care costs. Instead of fixing our health care system, it made the problems worse.

As President of the United States, I would make fixing our broken health care system one of my top priorities. I will work with Congress to repeal and replace this flawed law with conservative reforms that empower consumers with more choices and control over their health care decisions.

Here is what I believe: We need to put patients in charge of their own decisions and health care reform should actually lower costs. Entrepreneurs should be freed to lower costs and improve access to care – just like American ingenuity does in other sectors of the economy.

Americans deserve leadership that can actually fix our broken health care system, and they are certainly not getting it now from Washington, DC.  

It seems many Republicans not running for president have less to say on the ruling. At press time, representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinene, Carlos Curbelo, and Mario Diaz-Balart have all been silent on Twitter on the decision. 

Democrats, however, celebrated the ruling. In a statement, Rep. Frederica Wilson illustrated how many people in South Florida rely on the law to access affordable health care.

As a supporter of the Affordable Care Act and the representative of thousands of people who’ve depended on this landmark legislation to access quality, affordable health care, I am thrilled that the Supreme Court made the right decision in King v. Burwell. In my home state of Florida, 1,324,516 individuals and families could have lost their subsidies, worth $389 million, and faced a 359 percent increase in the cost of their premiums. My district has the third-highest number of people in the nation who benefit from the subsidy. It is a relief that those constituents, mostly immigrants, can now rest assured that their health care needs can be met.

They will not have to forgo seeking treatment because they lack the financial resources or be forced to rely on emergency room services to meet their health care needs, which is bad for patients and bad for the economy because it drives up the cost of insurance and medical services for other consumers.

I thank the Supreme Court justices for having the courage to do the right thing. It is yet another sign that Obamacare is here to stay.

DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was also thrilled, and said she hoped that the decision would be the final battle in the war over Obamacare:

Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a victory for millions of Americans, including 72,000 people in my congressional district, who will keep access to their quality, affordable health care coverage. For far too long before the Affordable Care Act, millions of people were denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions such as being a woman, or a medical condition such as diabetes. The ACA did away with all that, while lowering costs and reducing the rate of people who are uninsured. As a breast cancer survivor and one of tens of millions of Americans with a pre-existing condition, today’s ruling is personal for me.

This ruling should also mark the end of Republicans’ never-ending quest to gut the Affordable Care Act. Twice our nation’s highest court has given its stamp of approval to the ACA; it is unquestionably the law of the land. Instead of constant political games, Congress must work together to continue improving the ACA and states should work with the federal government to provide coverage for all of their citizens. In my home state of Florida, Governor Rick Scott has had opportunities to expand Medicaid and provide 800,000 Floridians access to quality, affordable health care. It is time for Governor Scott and the Republican State House to finally drop their political gamesmanship and help all Floridians.

Official Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Patrick Murphy and rumored candidate Rep. Alan Grayson also both praised the decision in statements. Grayson, however, used his platform to specifically attack Gov. Rick Scott:

As great as this decision is for Florida, Governor Rick Scott is still is not doing enough to ensure the health and well-being of Floridians. His refusal to expand Medicaid, backed by his Republican colleagues, is not only putting millions of people’s lives at risk, it’s costing our state billions of dollars.