- Obamacare in court: Individual mandate is constitutional - Salt Lake Tribune Editorial
By ruling correctly that the individual mandate is constitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court preserved the life of Obamacare. Unfortunately, it also struck down a key provision that threatened the states with losing all federal Medicaid funding if they refuse to vastly expand eligibility. By that action, the court may have placed on life support roughly half of the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of coverage to the uninsured.
In contrast, the four dissenters on the court would have struck down both the individual mandate and the Medicaid funding threat, and with those, the entire law. That may have been a better outcome, because it would have obliged Congress to start over and write a better law, preferably a single-payer plan that focused on cutting costs.
Trouble is, in the current political climate Congress would be unlikely to produce a better law. The Republicans don’t have an alternative plan; they are focused entirely on repealing Obamacare. The Democrats don’t have an alternative, either. ...
...The other major consequence of the court’s ruling is how Utah’s governor and Legislature might react to the demise of Obamacare’s federal Medicaid funding threat. Gov. Gary Herbert’s cautious statement suggests that, for now, he would not seriously consider turning the state’s back on billions of dollars of federal Medicaid money just so the state could avoid putting up hundreds of millions of its tax dollars at the end of this decade.
But all of the political and mathematical calculations have not yet been worked out. The court’s Medicaid ruling was completely unexpected. We would hope that Utah leaders would take the federal money and cover more Utahns. But given the political volatility of Obamacare, there are no guarantees.
- Supreme Court ruling is only a step on health reform - Denver Post Editorial
We welcome the Supreme Court's ruling, but the country must still deal with skyrocketing costs.
- Roberts' rules of order - Deseret News Editorial
... By crafting a judicial opinion that honors the role of the political branches in our republican government, Chief Justice John Roberts continues to cement his reputation as a gifted jurist and an exceptional statesman. ...
- A victory for the president - Ogden Standard-Examiner Editorial
... The decision, crafted perhaps under the guidance of the chief justice, is an earnest yet very complicated attempt to find the law constitutional without providing Congress excess power it sought under the commerce clause. ...
- Two views on the Obamacare ruling - Provo Daily Herald
- Where do we go from here? - Arizona Republic Editorial
If there is satisfaction to be found in Thursday's stunning 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of the constitutionality of the federal Affordable Care Act, it is that the republic must find its own way.
No reliance on the sagacity of men and women in black robes. No simple solutions. No yea or nay, rendered from above. ...
- The Affordable Care Act survived - Seattle Times Editorial
Spare America the political tantrums and accept the survival of the Affordable Care Act. Now it is time to follow through on providing care and cutting costs. ...
- Ruling frees Oregon to forge ahead - [Portland] Oregonian Editorial
- Supreme Court upholds Obamacare as constitutional - San Francisco Chronicle Editorial
What a relief. President Obama's landmark health care law stands - a win for the White House and millions of uninsured Americans. But there's something else in the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision: The justices stuck with constitutional issues and left the policy choice to Congress. ...
- What’s the GOP’s plan, beyond repeal? - Idaho Statesman Editorial
- Moving forward: Partisan divide in country over health care threatens progress - Las Vegas Sun Editorial
- Court exposes Obama's big deception - Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial
Don’t be so fast to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama. This may be the beginning of your worst campaign nightmare. The Supreme Court has just rendered as untrue all of your talk about no new taxes for the middle class. ...
- Taxing authority: The Supreme Court and ObamaCare - Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial
In 2009, President Obama insisted his proposal to financially penalize individuals who didn't purchase health insurance was not a tax. ... It is highly ironic, then, that the president's signature achievement would not have survived constitutional scrutiny had the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court ignored such arguments from the law's supporters. ...
