POLL: Obamacare Upheld; What’s Your Reaction?

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the central provision of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul requiring all Americans to have health insurance.

In a 5-4 decision, justices affirmed all parts of the law, which mandates that all Americans must have minimum insurance coverage or pay a penalty, saying it falls within Congresses Constitutional power to “lay and collect taxes,” according to The Huffington Post.

The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts upheld the mandate as a tax, although it concluded it was not valid as an exercise of Congress' commerce clause power, according to the Huffington Post story.

State Rep. Tom Cross, R-Oswego, released a statement Thursday afternoon regarding the decision:

We have made tremendous efforts this year in Illinois to reduce our state-run healthcare program, because we could no longer afford to provide the services that were once promised. Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms a federal law that has the potential to pile billions of dollars of additional expenses into our state budget that we cannot afford. We are encouraging Congress to repeal Obamacare at the federal level as soon as possible, and provide Illinois the ability to administer an efficient Medicaid program.

On Friday, Fountaindale Library board member , the Republican running against Joliet Democrat Natalie Manley in the 98th House District race, also issued a statement: 

The United State Supreme Court upheld President Obama's Affordable Care Act, and while the American people were dealt a blow, the sovereignty of the states was upheld. In short, the High Court struck down the part of the law that forced states to change their Medicaid eligibility requirements, drastically increasing the number of recipients, or risk losing all federal funding.

The good news for Illinois residents is that our legislators now have the option to refuse the expansion of a severely fractured Medicaid system. But taking advantage of this small victory requires courageous leaders in Springfield to stand up and say, 'no' to an expansion that will decimate an already fragile program.

Without responsible leadership in Springfield, the ruling from Washington regarding the Medicaid mandate means very little. It's honorable to want to help the less fortunate, but to compound what is already fiscally unsustainable with more instability does more harm than good for everyone.

 The taxpayers of Illinois must make the right choice in November and vote for leaders that will work to enact good policies and that will take advantage of the opportunity given to the states by the Supreme Court to opt-out of the Medicaid expansion.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION? VOTE IN OUR POLL AND SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS.