2016 presidential hopefuls react to SCOTUS Obamacare ruling

In the wake of Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of a key part of President Barack Obama‘s signature health care law on Thursday, 2016 presidential hopefuls were quick to weigh in with their opinions of the 6-3 decision.

Here’s a compilation of how the candidates reacted to the SCOTUS Obamacare ruling:

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush:

I am disappointed by today’s Supreme Court ruling in the King v. Burwell case. But this decision is not the end of the fight against Obamacare.

This fatally flawed law imposes job-killing mandates, causes spending in Washington to skyrocket by $1.7 trillion, raises taxes by $1 trillion and drives up health care costs. Instead of fixing our health care system, it made the problems worse.

As president of the United States, I would make fixing our broken health care system one of my top priorities. I will work with Congress to repeal and replace this flawed law with conservative reforms that empower consumers with more choices and control over their health care decisions.

Ben Carson:

Obamacare fundamentally increases the power of the government over the people and healthcare providers. While I resent what the court has done, it only causes me to work even harder to make sure the next president will repeal and replace Obamacare with sensible consumer empowering solutions that remove the government from the patient/doctor relationship. Those of us who pledge to repeal Obamacare must redouble our efforts and not waste time and energy mourning today’s ruling.

Hillary Clinton:

I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to affirm what the authors of the Affordable Care Act clearly intended and wrote into law: that health insurance should be affordable and available in every state across the country. Republicans in Congress have waged a sustained attack against this promise.  They’ve voted more than 50 times to repeal or dismantle the law, roll back coverage for millions of Americans, and let insurers write their own rules again – all without proposing any viable alternatives.

Now that the Supreme Court has once again re-affirmed the ACA as the law of the land, it’s time for the Republican attacks to end. It’s time to move on.

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Sen. Ted Cruz:

Today’s decision in King v. Burwell is judicial activism, plain and simple. For the second time in just a few years, a handful of unelected judges has rewritten the text of Obamacare in order to impose this failed law on millions of Americans. The first time, the court ignored federal law and magically transformed a statutory ‘penalty’ into a ‘tax.’ Today, these robed Houdinis transmogrified a ‘federal exchange’ into an exchange ‘established by the state.’

As Justice Scalia rightfully put it, ‘Words no longer have meaning if an exchange that is not established by a state is ‘established by the state.” He also said, ‘We should start calling this law SCOTUSCare’ – I agree.

Carly Fiorina:

Obamacare has not lived up to what we were promised. Instead of allowing those with insurance to stay on the plans they knew and liked, millions of people have been compelled to buy health plans that they didn’t want. Many have been forced to move to Medicaid and yet more doctors are refusing to take Medicaid patients under this law. We were promised improved access and higher-quality care, but the complexity of ObamaCare is preventing the very competition that would allow more and better options for patients. Instead, hospitals, drug companies, and insurance companies are all consolidating. The lasting solution here is what we’ve been saying all along. We need to repeal ObamaCare.

Sen. Lindsey Graham:

If you want to repeal and replace Obamacare with something better for your family—bipartisan—vote Republican.

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee:

Today’s King v. Burwell decision, which protects and expands ObamaCare, is an out-of-control act of judicial tyranny,” Huckabee said in a statement. “Our Founding Fathers didn’t create a ‘do-over’ provision in our Constitution that allows unelected, Supreme Court justices the power to circumvent Congress and rewrite bad laws.

The Supreme Court cannot legislate from the bench, ignore the Constitution, and pass a multi-trillion dollar ‘fix’ to ObamaCare simply because Congress misread what the states would actually do. The architects and authors of ObamaCare were intentional in the way they wrote the law. The courts have no constitutional authority to rescue Congress from creating bad law. The solution is for Congress to admit they screwed up, repeal the ‘nightmare of Obamacare’, and let states road-test real health care reforms.

Gov. Bobby Jindal:

Today, the Supreme Court had its say; soon, the American people will have theirs. President Obama would like this to be the end of the debate on Obamacare, but it isn’t. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled, the debate will grow. Conservatives must be fearless in demanding that our leaders in Washington repeal and replace Obamacare with a plan that will lower health care costs and restore freedom.

Former Gov. Martin O’Malley:

The Affordable Care Act has helped more than 17 million Americans access quality and affordable health coverage. Now that the Supreme Court has, once again, upheld the Affordable Care Act, we must continue to build and improve upon this hard-won progress. With the national goal of universal coverage now affirmed, we must reduce costs by improving wellness. Innovations for better coordinated care, personalized medicine, and the alignment of profit incentives to promote wellness make all of this possible.

Sen. Rand Paul:

This decision turns both the rule of law and common sense on its head. Obamacare raises taxes, harms patients and doctors, and is the wrong fix for America’s health care system.

As President I would make it my mission to repeal it, and propose real solutions for our healthcare system.

As a physician I know Americans need a healthcare system that reconnects patients, families, and doctors, rather than growing government bureaucracy.

Former Gov. Rick Perry:

The Obama Administration has ignored the text of the Affordable Care Act time and again, and today’s ruling allows them to continue to disregard the letter of the law. While I disagree with the ruling, it was never up to the Supreme Court to save us from Obamacare. We need leadership in the White House that recognizes the folly of having to pass a bill to know what’s in it. We need leadership that understands a heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all policy does nothing to help health outcomes for Americans.

Sen. Marco Rubio:

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.

Sen. Bernie Sanders:

The Supreme Court recognized the common-sense reading of the Affordable Care Act that Congress intended to help all eligible Americans obtain health insurance whether they get it through state or national exchanges. Access to affordable health care should not depend on where you live.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum:

Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court is yet another reminder that if we are to rid our nation of Obamacare once and for all, we need to elected a conservative President prepared to lead on day one. As President, I will be committed to repealing the monstrosity of Obamacare and replacing it with a patient-centered program that puts people first, not the government.

Gov. Scott Walker

Today’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the administration’s implementation of ObamaCare means Republicans in the House and Senate must redouble their efforts to repeal and replace this destructive and costly law,” he said in a statement. “Congress needs to repeal and replace Obamacare.