WASHINGTON, D.C.–Thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday, Mississippi will not have to set up its own insurance exchange and you will not have to give up federal subsidies to help pay for your health insurance.
The ruling was on whether federal subsidies that about 100,000 Mississippians get, would be made illegal. The court upheld the Obama administrations arguments that the subsidies are legal.
It is considered a major victory for the Obama administration and for ObamaCare.
Mississippi’s insurance commissioner, Mike Chaney, had been looking into options to help Mississippians who would have seen their insurance go to unaffordable levels if the court had ruled the other way.
“My initial thought was that I may not agree with the Affordable Care Act, but it is the law of the land now with the SCOTUS’s (Supreme Court) ruling and we will continue to work within the framework of the law,” said state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney.
Chaney said that while about 100,000 people in Mississippi get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, about 97,000 get tax subsidies.
“Things will continue along the way they are. I think ultimately you’ll see some tightening up of the federal government on the way they administer the program.”
Chaney told News Mississippi he believes it’s too early to tell if the ruling will hurt or help Mississippi.
CHANEY INTERVIEW
“Today’s ruling does not change the fact that the President’s health-care law is unworkable and unaffordable for millions of Americans. Too many people have suffered for too long from the law’s skyrocketing premiums, canceled plans, and website failures. There is a better way to provide access to health insurance that works for people. I hope House and Senate members can work together to reform the nation’s health-care system in a way that broadens access, increases choice, and lowers costs,” said Sen. Roger Wicker.
Gov. Phil Bryant issued a lengthy statement.
“Today’s decision does not change the fact that Obamacare is a socialist takeover of health care forced down the throats of the American people without proper review, and it does not slow the massive and unprecedented transfer of wealth that is at the heart of the subsidy system. Make no mistake—Obamacare is not about helping those in need or improving health care delivery. It is about destabilizing our health care system, ceding more control to centralized government and replacing individual liberty with government dependence.
“It is incredibly troubling to me that a majority of United States Supreme Court justices—including, again, the Chief Justice—have found yet another way to uphold a portion of this disastrous law. Those who voted in the majority have set a dangerous precedent of blatantly disregarding the plain language of a bill as enacted by Congress.
“Mississippi was right, as were numerous other states, not to willingly entrench Obamacare by establishing a state-based exchange, and I will continue to resist any efforts that attempt to shove Obamacare deeper into this state.
“Republicans know there is a better way, and I call on Mississippi’s congressional delegation to immediately renew its efforts to repeal and replace this train wreck of a law,” said Bryant.
