House Speaker Robert Nutting on SCOTUS ACA Ruling
Thu, 06/28/2012 - 2:18pm (new)
Posted by thistle
Maine Speaker of the House Robert Nutting
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 28, 2012
Contact:
Jim Cyr
Office of the House Speaker
(207)287-1305
Statement from House Speaker Robert Nutting on U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Affordable Care Act
“I am disappointed with the Supreme Court’s ruling regarding the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act. Despite the president’s earlier insistence that Obamacare is not a tax, the Supreme Court justices made it clear today that it is a tax, one the American people cannot afford in this struggling economy. I am, however, encouraged by the Court’s finding that the federal government cannot penalize individual states by withholding Medicaid funding for failure to comply with eligibility requirements.
I also believe that what happened on the federal level today underscores the importance of the groundbreaking legislation, passed by Maine’s 125th Legislature, to provide affordable health insurance for all Mainers. As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, the approach of introducing more competition into Maine’s health insurance market has already led to declining premiums. It has also made health insurance more accessible to those who could not afford it in the past. As we phase out the Democrats’ failed Dirigo Health program, I believe Maine’s approach to solving our health insurance problems, not Obamacare, should serve as the national model.”
House Speaker Robert Nutting (R-Oakland)