The American Nurses Association (ANA) lauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the “minimum coverage provision,” hailing it as a victory for all patients and their families. This is particularly true for those 50 million adults and children who currently lack adequate health coverage. ANA praises the law’s consumer protections and the opportunity it opens for registered nurses to assume an even greater role in providing high-quality, cost-effective care.

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"Today's  Supreme Court decision on federal health care reform demonstrates  support for new models of care that feature a multi-disciplinary,  team-based approach focused on the patient," said Patrice Sminkey, CEO  of the Commission for Case Manager Certification, the nation's oldest  and largest case manager certification body. "The role of the  professional case manager will continue to expand as health care evolves into an improved system with better access, improved care transitions  and consumer safety, and lower costs."

 

The American Medical Association has long supported health insurance coverage for all, and we are pleased that this decision means millions of Americans can look forward to the coverage they need to get healthy and stay healthy.

 

“This decision protects important improvements, such as ending coverage denials due to pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps on insurance, and allowing the 2.5 million young adults up to age 26 who gained coverage under the law to stay on their parents' health insurance policies. The expanded health care coverage upheld by the Supreme Court will allow patients to see their doctors earlier rather than waiting for treatment until they are sicker and care is more expensive. The decision upholds funding for important research on the effectiveness of drugs and treatments and protects expanded coverage for prevention and wellness care, which has already benefited about 54 million Americans.

 

 

Today’s historic decision lifts a heavy burden from millions of Americans who need access to health coverage. The promise of coverage can now become a reality.

The decision means that hospitals now have much-needed clarity to continue on their path toward transformation. But transforming the delivery of health care will take much more than the strike of a gavel or stroke of a pen. It calls for the entire health care community to continue to work together, along with patients and purchasers, to implement better coordinated, high- quality care.

 

 

“Individuals and families need secure, affordable coverage choices.  Maintaining the link between market reforms and universal coverage is essential to avoiding significant cost increases and loss of choice for consumers and employers.

  

“As the reform law is implemented, health plans will continue to focus on promoting affordability and peace of mind for their beneficiaries.  The law expands coverage to millions of Americans, a goal health plans have long supported, but major provisions, such as the premium tax, will have the unintended consequences of raising costs and disrupting coverage unless they are addressed. 

 

“Health plans will continue to work with policymakers on both sides of the aisle to make coverage more affordable, give families and employers peace of mind, and promote choice and competition.  Health plans also will continue to lead efforts to reform the payment and delivery system to promote prevention and wellness, help patients and physicians manage chronic disease, and reward quality care.” 

 

 

 

"The Supreme Court's decision today was the right decision for America," said Dr. Jane L. Delgado, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the nation's leading Hispanic health advocacy group.  "Because of the Court's action, 33 million Americans, including millions who could not get health insurance because they had a chronic illness like diabetes, will gain care they need and families will have financial peace of mind."

 

 

 

We are pleased that congressional support for nationwide adoption of health IT on both sides of the aisle remains strong, and has been unaffected by the debate on the healthcare reform law.  Despite differences of opinion on the Healthcare Reform Law, members of both parties in Congress recognize the need to transform healthcare in this country, and the important role health IT will play in that transformation. We anticipate that the benefits of health IT will continue to receive bipartisan support as our nation establishes the infrastructure necessary for improving patient care and take strides to enhance the cost effectiveness of care delivery in the U.S.”

 

 

 

“CAHI members believe a one-size-fits-all approach does not produce the best health care delivery system for our nation," stated CAHI's interim Executive Director, Marianne Eterno. "Because the federal law has not been struck down in its entirety, we remain concerned about the future of health care in America."

 

"This law does nothing to tackle one of the fundamental problems with our health care system: costly mandates have driven health insurance premiums out of the reach of millions of American consumers. Instead, the ACA will add millions of dollars to the nation's deficit, while taking important decisions out of the hands of consumers and handing them to Washington bureaucrats," warned Victoria Craig Bunce, CAHI Research and Policy Director.

 

 

 

"This ruling is good news for people with Medicare, the Medicare program, and the millions of families who could not otherwise afford health care coverage," said Judith Stein, Executive Director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

 

The law can now continue to help older and disabled Americans, children with special needs, people with pre-existing conditions, women, young adults, and small businesses. In just two years, the law has already saved over $3 billion in Medicare prescription drug costs for older and disabled Americans, put $1.1 billion in rebates back in the pockets of 12.8 million consumers, and allowed over 3 million young adults to retain access to health coverage on their parents' plans.

 

 

"The protections under the PPACA are especially important to the patients served by the Patient Advocate Foundation, because each of them determines, first, whether a patient will have access to important health services, and second, whether a patient can afford the health care they require," said Nancy Davenport-Ennis, founder and CEO of NPAF. "We are pleased that the Supreme Court has opted to maintain these key provisions by upholding the PPACA, and we look forward to working with policymakers and the broader health care community in making certain that these patient protections continue to assist the millions of Americans that they were intended to help."

 

 

 

AARP is pleased that the Supreme Court found the critically important provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to be constitutional. This landmark legislation is already improving the health and financial security of our members and all Americans.

 

AARP supported this law because it helps many Medicare recipients avoid financially burdensome increases in prescription drug costs by closing the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap, or "doughnut hole." The ACA also expands the number of people eligible for free preventive and wellness benefits, and cracks down on Medicare fraud, waste and abuse.  Finally, for those not yet eligible for Medicare, the ACA will be instrumental in eliminating discriminatory health insurance practices such as exclusions based on pre-existing conditions, and in limiting the use of age rating to charge exorbitant premiums for older Americans.

 

 

 

In reaction to the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today on the "Affordable Care Act," the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) said the decision that keeps intact most of the law - including the individual mandate being deemed constitutional as a "tax" - will continue to impose a heavy burden on small business owners and entrepreneurs, thus harming the economy, U.S. competitiveness, job creation and the future of entrepreneurship.

 

"Most self-employed Americans and small business owners would purchase health insurance for themselves and their employees if they could afford it. The costly, tax-laden health care law with its individual mandate and intrusive regulations missed this entire point.  Rather than providing Americans with affordable choices through better competition, the health care law coerces Americans to buy packages designed by government bureaucrats in markets micromanaged by government bureaucrats," said SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan.

 

 

 

The health care reform law that was upheld by the Supreme Court includes bipartisan provisions intended to achieve reasonable reimbursement for Medicaid generic prescription drugs, although the implementation process to date has been disappointing. There are also transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers in the health care exchanges set to launch in 2014. Medication therapy management will be expanded in Medicare. Independent community pharmacies remain exempted from the duplicative accreditation requirement for selling Medicare Part B durable medical equipment. Mechanisms have been put in place for the inclusion of pharmacies in Accountable Care Organizations and Medical Homes. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision and the government's response to it, NCPA will continue to prioritize these issues because, left unaddressed in a prudent fashion, it is patients that will suffer the consequences.

 

 

 

We commend the Supreme Court for keeping in place key elements of this historic legislation. MHPA and its member health plans remain committed to a strong partnership with the states and CMS to find a way to cover this population in need. The Medicaid health plan industry has been growing and will continue to grow as states continue to see Medicaid health plans as part of the solution to their budget woes, whether or not they participate in the expansion of Medicaid.

 

"We are pleased that the Medicaid drug rebate equalization policy included in the ACA remains intact. This provision that extended rebates to pharmaceuticals provided to Medicaid managed care enrollees represents a tremendous improvement in the administration of state Medicaid programs. The result will be improved care coordination and quality of care for beneficiaries enrolled in Medicaid health plans.

 

However, we must reiterate that the ACA-mandated $8 billion annual fee on the health insurance industry in 2014, which gradually increases over time, should be repealed…