ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC)- A landmark decision Thursday from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act, or as many are now calling it, Obamacare. The high court left the health care reform law standing.
Reactions have been coming in from people across the country and it is giving local politicians a chance to sound off on how the bill will affect Minnesota in a positive or negative way.
A 5 to 4 decision, with the swing vote being Chief Justice John Roberts, maintains that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and will remain in law.
The reactions began coming in quickly.
In a written statement, Olmsted Medical Center CEO Tim Weir says that "Our focus on patient safety, quality improvement and efficiency remain steadfast. OMC will continue to adopt newer modes of practice...but does not anticipate any adverse changes as a result of the court's decision."
So how does this affect us here in Minnesota? Both sides of the isle have their perspective.
"Already under the Affordable Care Act, they can't deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions but the piece for adults has yet to be implemented, but that's coming and we know that it's coming," says DFL Representative Tina Liebling of Rochester.
Republican Senator Carla Nelson offered a statement and said "Research has shown that this federal intrusion will be neither cost effective or beneficial to the overall standard of healthcare in our country."
The State of Minnesota has nearly 10 percent of people uninsured, a group largely affected by the Affordable Care Act.
"Minnesota has already expanded coverage under medical assistance to adults up to 133% of poverty and this is something that the rest of the country will have the opportunity to do in 2014," says Liebling. "There is some control over abuses by health insurance companies. It's not the be all, end all. Minnesota needs to keep working, we need to keep working on affordability."
This is not the end of the healthcare battle, but with the Supreme Court ruling Thursday, the new reform provisions will stay and the fights at the Capitol will continue on.
