In King v. Burwell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in favor or tax subsidies set up by President Barack Obama’s federal health-care law and the Florida delegation split along party lines over the decision.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy sided with the court liberals on the 6-3 decision. The challenge to Obama’s law, specifically focused on whether health insurance tax credits can be run at both the federal and state levels. The plaintiffs insisted only state exchanges can promote the tax credits.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, said he disagreed with the decision and continued to support repealing the law.
“I disagree with the court’s ruling and believe they have once again erred in trying to correct the mistakes made by President Obama and Congress in forcing Obamacare on the American people,” Rubio said on Thursday. “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. I remain committed to repealing this bad law and replacing it with my consumer-centered plan that puts patients and families back in control of their health care decisions. We need consumer care, not Obamacare.”
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the House leadership as senior deputy majority whip, also opposed the decision. “Extremely disappointed that Supreme Court upheld Obamacare,” Ross posted on Twitter on Thursday morning.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., who is running for the Democratic nomination to replace Rubio in 2016, cheered the decision.
"Today, millions of Floridians can rest easy knowing that the critical funding they need for their health care coverage will remain in place,” Murphy said on Thursday. “More Floridians are benefiting from the health care law than anywhere in the country, and while we can continue to work to strengthen the law, it shouldn’t be used as a political football that jeopardizes critical assistance for millions of Americans."
Murphy wasn’t the only Democrat in the Florida delegation who backed the decision. U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla., pointed to a Kaiser Family Foundation study that showed 42,000 residents of her district benefited from the credits at an average of $4,800.
“This ruling means thousands of middle-class families in the 2nd Congressional District will keep their tax credits and pay less for the private health insurance they purchase,” Graham said. “There's still more to be done to make Obamacare work better for North Florida, and I'm committed to working with Democrats and Republicans to fix this law."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
