Three people who represent South Dakota in the nation’s capital are reacting to a US Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. Thursday six of the nine justices agreed that people are still eligible for insurance subsidies using a federal health insurance exchange. Thirty-four states do not have state-run marketplaces.
A majority of justices on the United States Supreme Court says people can get federal assistance with health insurance when they buy it through a state exchange or in the federal marketplace. United States Senator Mike Rounds says that’s not what he expected.
"I think that was a surprise to a lot of us. We’ve been talking a lot about it over the last couple of months, and our expectation from any of us was that they would read the law and read it the way that it was written and say it’s flawed and that it’s got to be fixed. They did not do that," Rounds says. "Now that does not change the fact that the Affordable Care Act truly is fatally flawed. From the increased insurance costs to website glitches and cancelled coverages for millions of Americans, this law truly has hurt our economy."
Not everyone agrees. President Barack Obama says the Affordable Care Act has lowered insurance premiums and gives millions of Americans access to health coverage.
Rounds and fellow South Dakota Republicans Congresswoman Kristi Noem and Senator John Thune say Obamacare is bad policy. All three say they plan to work toward what they call a “patient-centered” alternative to the ACA.
Mister Obama says the Affordable Care Act is “here to stay” and that he’s willing to work with Congress to further improve health care.