“This is now part of the fabric of how we care for one another — this is healthcare in America,” said President Obama. “It seems so cynical to want to take healthcare away from millions of people.”
The Catholic Health Association has championed the law and written a brief asking the Supreme Court to uphold it as-is in King v. Burwell, the court case challenging the legality of subsidies provided to eligible individuals through the federal insurance exchange HealthCare.gov. Without these subsidies, approximately 6.4 million people would be unable to afford insurance premiums. A decision from the Supreme Court is expected by the end of June.
In his speech, the president said the health reform law has defied “doom and gloom predictions” and “Chicken Little warnings” of disastrous economic outcomes and infringed personal freedoms, according to the Times. President Obama’s speech also served as a preview of the tough stance he is prepared to take against Republicans should they seek to strike the law if the court sides with King.
Republicans countered by saying the president is denying the adverse effects of the law, which they argue raised costs and caused some people to lose out on preferred health plans.
“I imagine the families threatened with double-digit premium increases would beg to differ, as would the millions of families who received cancellation notices for the plans they had and wanted to keep,” Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, said in response to President Obama’s speech, according to the report. “The sooner President Obama can get to grips with that reality, the sooner we can work together to replace the fear and anguish of Obamacare with the hope and promise of true health reform.”
Despite continual criticism from Republicans, President Obama said he is optimistic that the Supreme Court will side with the government in King v. Burwell, and if it doesn’t, “Congress could fix this whole thing with a one-sentence provision.”
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Former Mercy Springfield nurse claims she was fired for reporting patient safety concerns
Criminal investigation of Tenet hospitals: 5 things to know
Obama: King v. Burwell is an “easy case”
