GOP Presidential Candidates React to SCOTUS Obamacare Ruling, Vow to Replace

GOP presidential candidates are reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision that preserves ObamaCares subsidy scheme.

GOP presidential candidate and doctor Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said: “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.”

Paul vows that if elected president, he will make it a mission to repeal Obamacare and propose better solutions for America’s healthcare system.

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

GOP presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon also said he was disappointed in today’s ruling and also vowed as president to repeal and replace the law with a sensible solution:

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.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) said:

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.

Santorum said he is the only GOP presidential candidate that has taken on the Clinton Machine on the issue of healthcare and won – obviously referring to the probably democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“In my first race for the United States Senate, I defeated the author of HillaryCare in a campaign that was led by Paul Begala and James Carville,” Santorum said.  “I am not afraid to debate Hillary Clinton on the issue of healthcare because I know that when the American people are given the choice, they will choose freedom and opportunity over a government-knows-best approach to the most personal decision in their lives.”

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry announced that today’s ruling shows the court is continuing to disregard 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.

Perry added that with individual premiums increasing more than 50 percent and with close to 5 million people losing their health insurance plans, it’s time Obamacare is replaced with something that works better for Americans.

GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) expressed his views on the ruling on Twitter.

I disagree with the Court’s ruling and believe they have once again erred in trying to correct the mistakes made by President Obama…

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) June 25, 2015

Rubio vowed to repeal the law, and replace it “with my consumer-centered plan that puts patients and families back in control of their health care decisions.”

GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina – former Hewlett Packard CEO – posted her reaction to the ruling on Facebook.

She said it’s outrageous the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare again to save “this deeply flawed law” that’s “not working for the majority of Americans.”

ObamaCare has not lived up to what we were promised. Instead of more affordable care, premiums are rising. 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.

She said the complexity of Obamacare is preventing competition that would improve the quality of healthcare, and give better options to patients.

“Instead, hospitals, drug companies, and insurance companies are all consolidating. Instead of reducing the need for emergency care, we’re seeing more ER visits. There are a whole set of problems we’ve created and it has become clear that this law isn’t working,” she added.

The lasting solution here is what we’ve been saying all along. We need to repeal ObamaCare. It hasn’t worked. We need to do the one thing we’ve never tried in our healthcare system—real competition. We know that competition provides lower prices and higher quality. But instead of a free market, healthcare so far has been a regulated oligopoly. We used to regulate insurance companies in all 50 states and now, we’ve nationalized that process. All Americans agreed with President Obama’s goals of quality, affordable care, but that is not what we got. And competition doesn’t mean eliminating care for those with preexisting conditions. States should administer high-risk pools for those who have real needs. We’ve seen this in action – New Hampshire was able to administer high-risk pools effectively before Obamacare.

She concluded by saying this is another example of Americans needing Washington to stand up for them.

Recently announced GOP candidate Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) said, “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.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) – also a GOP candidate – said:

This case was brought before the Supreme Court because President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress rammed through their hastily and deeply flawed legislation to create Obamacare, apparently without even proofreading their own bill. The result has been a disaster from day one. Today’s decision only reinforces why we need a president who will bring about real reform that repeals Obamacare and replaces it with a plan that expands consumer choice, increases coverage, delivers better value for the dollar, and gives states more control, without stifling job creation. As president, this is the kind of reform I would put in place.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker – not an official candidate just yet – also weighed in, saying that the ruling puts pressure on Republicans in Congress to “replace this destructive and costly law.”

“From the beginning, it was clear that ObamaCare would fail the American people and this has proven to be true across the country and in Wisconsin,” Walker stated. “Workers have lost hours because of new costs faced by their employers, people have lost their insurance and cannot afford the dramatic premium and fee increases, and many can no longer see their preferred doctors.”

He called for Republican leadership to step up and repeal and replace the law.

“Now, instead of just finger-pointing from the president for why his law is failing, we need real leadership in Washington, and Congress needs to repeal and replace ObamaCare,” Walker concluded.

Meanwhile, as GOP contenders vow to take down the law, President Obama, claiming victory on behalf of the administration, said at a press conference, “This law is working exactly as it’s supposed to.”